Vandals forced their way into Temple Keneseth Israel, an Orthodox house of worship here, breaking into the ark, and desecrated the Torah.
The sexton found the scroll unrolled and trampled upon. It is believed intruders were looking for money and vented their annoyance when only a small amount of coin was found.
Services have been held to purify the scroll.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.