Tzfas police arrested two minors about a month ago suspected
of having desecrated a Sephardic synagogue in the city's
Avkor neighborhood last week. This new shul is open
only on Shabbos. The minors are new immigrants.
It is suspected that the youngsters entered the synagogue
through the window. They broke furniture with a hammer,
burned two chairs, spilled paint on siddurim and
scrawled graffiti in Russian on the walls.
The synagogue gabbai, Eliyahu Ligtivi, was startled at
the shocking scene.
Police have arrested two neighborhood youth as suspects. The
youngsters said they acted out of boredom. "We're lucky that
they didn't touch the sifrei Torah,even though they
are not kept in a locked closet," Ligtivi noted.
The minors were arrested by the Youth Department of the Tzfas
Police; investigated and warned not to repeat such acts.
Synagogue members have launched a fundraising campaign to
replace the ruined furniture.
