NEW YORK (VINnews) — Members of the Biale shul in London were stunned to discover one recent morning that the handles on the windows had been torn off and thrown on the ground. Surveillance cameras showed that the vandalism had been perpetrated by a local avreich [married person] who entered during the night and broke the window handles.
The avreich is not a resident of the neighborhood but his parents live adjacent to the shul,which was built with large windows overlooking their house.
The avreich released a threatening voice message to gabbaim in the shul in which he explained why he had broken the handles and threatened to “give 24 hours to remove sefarim and burn the shul down” if his demands were not met. The avreich said that “Whenever I come to visit my parents for shabbos, I hear my mother saying how much pain and humiliation she suffers when members of the shul can look straight into her kitchen and salon. You promised to fix the issue and place special shields on the windows but you didn’t keep your word and only fixed the first floor. I’m not afraid of anyone, of any police, Honor Your Mother and Father is more important than anything else.”
After police received the surveillance materials and began to investigate the incident, the Admor of Biale-London told his gabbai to withdraw the complaint against the avreich despite the damage he had caused. The rebbe also ordered all of the windows to be covered in order not to cause damage and distress to people around the shul.