A Moscow store, operated by the Soviet Government, recently sold to a Western tourist a snaredrum which used a portion of a Torah parchment as one of its skins, thus desecrating the Holy Scroll, the New York Herald Tribune reported here this weekend.
The newspaper, reproducing a photograph of the drum-skin, showed that the bottom of the drum had stretched a piece of Torah parchment inscribed with 35 verses from Chapters 17 and 18 of Genesis. The drum had been bought for 50 rubles (about $55) from Moscow store No. 32, a store where Soviet residents leave personal articles for sale by the government outlet.
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.