Jewelry and religious and artistic objects with a nominal value of between $3 million to $5 million, but with a historical value worth far more, were stolen yesterday from the Haaretz Museum’s Ethnography and Folklore Pavillion. Police were today rounding up known receivers of stolen jewelry and keeping a close watch on airports, but they fear that the objects may already have been broken down for smuggling abroad.
The thieves apparently knew that the museum building had security devices only at its front door. They broke in through a rear window and cleared out the entire building, stripping models of their jewelry. The items stolen included silver phylacteries given to Theodor Herzl’s son on his Bar Mitzvah, and a bible donated by Tel Aviv’s first mayor, Meir Dizengoff. Also stolen were rare bibles, spice boxes and kiddush cups.
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