Details now available of the fire that damaged the largest synagogue in Roumania at Maramoresh Sighet, Tuesday, definitely point to the fire being of incendiary origin. Rafel Kreidel, a Jewish merchant, saw clouds of smoke coming from the synagogue. Together with two other Jews, Ignaz Gross and Ferdinand Perl, he broke into the building.
They found all the furniture overturned and soaked with gasoline. The floors were on fire and the Torah scrolls had been profaned while scattered around the synagogue were a number of empty gasoline bottles. Raising the alarm the three Jews tried to fight the blaze until the fire brigade arrived. Thousands of Jews gathered outside of the synagogue making it necessary for the police to surround the building to facilitate fighting the fire. It was extinguished before much damage was done.
A preliminary investigation has established that the incendiaries entered the synagogue by the back door but their identity has not yet been learned.
As the Year Turns, Support the Journalism You Trust. JTA covers the stories shaping Jewish life around the world — with the depth this moment calls for. As you reflect on the year ahead, consider a gift that keeps independent Jewish journalism strong.
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.
