GIVATAYIM, ISRAEL — Shock and horror rippled through Sunday night at a central Israeli community after sacred Jewish prayer items were vandalized outside a synagogue in Givatayim, authorities and religious leaders said Sunday.
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Security footage reviewed by synagogue officials shows an unidentified individual rifling through and destroying tefillin, prayer shawls and religious books that had been left outside the Beit Yosef synagogue. The suspect fled the scene, and no arrests were immediately reported.
Rabbi Shlomo Batzri, a leader of the synagogue, said the damage went beyond property destruction and struck at the heart of the community’s religious life. He described the scene as devastating and said congregants were struggling to understand the motive behind the act.
Israel’s chief rabbis issued a joint statement expressing shock and condemnation, calling the vandalism a desecration of sacred objects and urging police to act swiftly to find those responsible.
Police said an investigation is underway and asked the public to provide any information that could assist authorities.
The incident comes amid heightened sensitivity around attacks on religious sites, as Jewish communities in Israel and abroad report increased concern over vandalism and intimidation targeting houses of worship.
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It’s just Israelis being Israelis