A rare and ancient ceremony–burial of religious objects plundered by the Nazis from European synagogues and injured beyond repair–took place in consecrated ground at Beth El Cemetery, Paramus, N.J., today under the auspices of the Synagogue Council of America, which represents Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Jewry in America.
The rites, presided over by Rabbi Simon G. Kramer, president of the Council, consisted of interment accompanied by the chanting of appropriate prayers, following the form prescribed by religious law to prevent desecration of the name of the Almighty by secular use of the objects. The sacred articles included spice boxes embroidered ritual cloths and parchment Scrolls of the Law, reclaimed from religious treasures looted by the Nazis, and brought to the United States by Jewish Cultural Reconstruction.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
