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NEWS
Arson in Petach Tikvah: Heavy Damage to Chanichei
Hayeshivos Synagogue
by A. Cohen
Anonymous vandals set fire to the old Chanichei Hayeshivos
synagogue on 2 Arlozorov Street in Petach Tikvah on
motzei Shabbos parshas Bamidbar. Many sifrei
Torah were destroyed by fire as a result of the blaze,
and heavy damage was caused to the adjacent
succah.
On motzei Shabbos after midnight, residents living
near the synagogue in Petach Tikvah discovered that fire had
broken out in the succah near the synagogue, and that
flames were spreading towards the main synagogue building.
Firemen summoned to the site managed to gain control over
the fire, but heavy damage was caused, mainly to the
sifrei kodesh used by the synagogue and the kollel
on the premises.
Rabbi Menachem Schwartz, director of the Petach Tikvah
Chareidi Education and Culture Department, told Yated
Ne'eman, "The scene encountered by members of the
synagogue and the neighbors was shocking. Burnt
seforim and copies of the Shas lay on the
synagogue's floor. Every Jewish heart was shocked by the
sight." He added that there is no question that this was
arson, a conclusion which police investigators have also
reached.
Rabbi Moshe Gafni told Yated Ne'eman that he will
demand that the Commander in Chief of the Israel Police
Department investigate the recurrent attacks on synagogues
in Petach Tikvah, and ascertain the identity of those
responsible for these shocking, repeated horrors.
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