The Lebanese Minister of Interior, Camille Chamoun, announced today in Beirut that the city’s Jewish synagogue of Aouadi-Boujnil has been looted and seriously damaged. The Minister said fire broke out in the synagogue as a consequence of nearby fighting. Other reports from Beirut indicate that the former Jewish quarter, deserted since last week’s fighting, has been heavily shelled by both Christian and Moslem units and has become a sort of no-man’s land.
There are no reports of Jewish casualties in spite of the new flare-up in the fighting, which, according to conservative estimates, caused the death of 235 people in the last two days and the wounding of hundreds of civilians. Lebanese Jewish families who had planned to return to their homes from Western Europe where they have sought asylum are now reported to have decided to settle in Europe. Scores of Lebanese Jews reportedly applied to the French authorities for resident’s permits and similar cases are reported in Switzerland.
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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.
