A precious 15th-century Hebrew book, stolen last Oct. 2 from the national library in Florence and worth over $1 million, has been recovered in the United States.
According to Interpol, the thief was identified as 61-year-old Israeli Yitzhak Schwarz, who posed as a rabbi. Israeli police helped in pinpointing his identity and in tracing the book, which apparently went through the hands of a London antiquarian.
Florence officials have issued an arrest warrant for Schwarz on charges of aggravated theft and illegal export of a work of art.
According to published reports, Schwarz visited the Florence library twice, each time asking to see the book — “The Salterium Davidis,” printed in Brescia in 1493 — and using his passport as an identity document.
On Oct. 2, he managed to leave the library with the book in his possession.
Police said that a similar theft of a valuable Hebrew book had occurred just a week before the Florence theft at the University Library in the northwest city of Turin.
Police are also investigating the theft of a similar Hebrew book from a library in Parma 10 years ago, as well as the reported presence of Schwarz at a library in Milan in March, where he is believed to have examined another book of the same type.
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.
