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🇮🇱 Israel /Crime & Justice

Twelve Torah scrolls stolen in targeted antisemitic break-in at synagogue near Paris

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Under investigation
  • Twelve Torah scrolls were stolen from a synagogue near Paris in what authorities are calling a targeted antisemitic attack.
  • The break-in occurred despite the synagogue's security systems, and the rabbi discovered the theft while preparing for a bar mitzvah.
  • Officials have denounced the act as a profound spiritual trauma for the Jewish community, emphasizing its antisemitic nature as only religious items were taken.

Twelve Torah scrolls were stolen from the Grand Synagogue of Levallois, on the outskirts of Paris, in a targeted break-in that authorities have labeled as antisemitic. The theft, discovered on Monday morning by Rabbi Chalom Lellouche as he prepared to host a bar mitzvah, has deeply shaken the Jewish community.

It was with shock and anger that I learned this morning that the Jewish community of Levallois had been struck at what is most sacred and precious to it.

— Agnès Pottier-DumasLevallois Mayor expressing her reaction to the theft.

Two individuals reportedly breached the synagogue's security, bypassing surveillance systems to steal the scrolls. The synagogue's rabbi and the Jewish Community Protection Service (SPCJ) confirmed the incident, with the SPCJ conducting an initial search before police were notified. Levallois Mayor Agnès Pottier-Dumas expressed shock and anger, stating that both municipal and national police were immediately engaged in the investigation.

Whatever the motives of those who committed this sacrilegious act, which has profoundly shaken the Jewish community to its core, the antisemitic nature of this despicable crime must be denounced.

— Agnès Pottier-DumasLevallois Mayor denouncing the nature of the crime.

"Whatever the motives of those who committed this sacrilegious act, which has profoundly shaken the Jewish community to its core, the antisemitic nature of this despicable crime must be denounced," Pottier-Dumas said. She highlighted that only the Torah scrolls were targeted, while more valuable non-religious items were left untouched. The mayor also expressed hope for the scrolls' recovery and conveyed solidarity with the wounded Jewish community.

We also hope that these sacred scrolls, whose value is beyond measure, can be recovered. And for those who believe, we stand united in prayer with the Jewish community, wounded by this heinous act.

— Agnès Pottier-DumasLevallois Mayor expressing hope for recovery and solidarity.

Rabbi Chalom Lellouche and Philippe Cohen, President of ACCIL Levallois, released a joint video condemning the incident. They described it as "clearly a criminal act, but also an antisemitic one," noting the apparent professionalism of the assailants in evading security. The pair stated that the theft represents "a spiritual trauma for all the Jewish community of France, and indeed across the world."

It was clearly a criminal act, but also an antisemitic one.

— Rabbi Chalom Lellouche and Philippe CohenJoint statement from the rabbi and the president of the synagogue's association denouncing the act.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Jerusalem Post. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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