Paris shul ransacked, sifrei Torah thrown
Vandals break into synagogue in Paris's 19th arrondissement, overturn bookcases, rip open the aron kodesh and throw Torah scrolls and tefillin to the floor, community in shock
Footage from inside the shul on Sunday morning shows the scale of destruction: bookcases and shelves overturned, sefarim and documents strewn across the floor.
The vandals did not spare the tashmishei kedushah. The aron kodesh was forced open, the paroches pulled aside, and sifrei Torah opened and thrown. Talleisim and tefillin were found tossed into corners of the room.
The sifrei Torah appear not to have been seriously damaged.
Mispallelim and gabbaim who arrived at the shul were struck by the scene of destruction in the offices and the beis medrash. They refrained from touching anything and called police, allowing forensic investigators to collect fingerprints and evidence from the scene.
Community leaders are surveying the heavy damage to furniture and the beis haknesses. The incident adds to growing concern among Paris Jews that the wave of protests in France is translating into targeted attacks on Jewish institutions and symbols, with dozens of Palestinian flags seen during the demonstrations.
