Police have launched investigations into the cause of the fire which gutted the Highgate district synagogue in north London. A police spokesman told the JTA that it was too early as yet to say whether the fire was an accident or was started deliberately. The entire building was gutted, with only the four outer walls remaining intact. Seven Sifreh Torah were destroyed in the blaze. Nathan Rubin, United Synagogue secretary, who lives near the synagogue, told the JTA that this is the worst fire United Synagogue has ever suffered. The building, which originally served as an Anglican Church, was consecrated in 1950 as an Orthodox district synagogue.
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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.