Har Zion Temple, one of this city’s largest Conservative congregations, was vandalized July 13 and 14, the Jewish Exponent reports. A 14-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the July 14 incident and charged with vandalism.
Jerome Heilweil, synagogue vice president, and Juvenile Aid Division investigators, said “they really turned the place upside down.” Mr. Heilweil said the synagogue had been the victim of vandalism and petty thievery for six months but the latest incidents were the most severe. He said no religious articles were disturbed and attached “no religious significance” to the recent incidents.
The July 14 damage was done to the nursery school. Approximately 100 windows were broken, play equipment was broken and scattered and books were torn and strewn about. The nursery was open to all children in the neighborhood, “black and white alike,” Mr. Heilweil said. The July 13 vandals broke some of the Temple’s stained glass windows and broke dishes. “The place was pretty much a shambles,” Mr. Heilweil said. He said police promised more surveillance of the synagogue and that he was considering the employment of additional guards. There was no official estimate of the amount of damage.
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