Police in Beverly Hills in Los Angeles, are investigating a break-in and vandalism on Shabbos at Nessah Synagogue, one of the city’s largest Iranian-Jewish synagogues as a hate crime.
At a press conference outside Nessah Synagogue, Beverly Hills Police Department (BHPD) issued a statement saying the department is “actively investigating a series of vandalism(s) that occurred in the city of Beverly Hills overnight.”
According to BHPD, police responded to a call from Nessah Synagogue shortly after 7 a.m., after an employee notified security when he arrived for work and found an open door and items ransacked inside the synagogue.
Police believe a lone male suspect committed what they are describing as a “series of minor vandalisms as he traversed through the Rexford/Elm alley south of Wilshire during the early morning hours.”
Police say the same suspect – described as a white male aged 20-25, who was captured on the synagogue’s security cameras — then made his way to Nessah at approximately 2 a.m. and forced his way into the synagogue.
According to the police statement, “He then moved through the synagogue, heavily ransacking the interior. He overturned furniture and distributed brochures and material throughout the interior. He damaged several Jewish relics but fortunately the main [Torah] scrolls survived unscathed.”
Police said it does not appear that anything was stolen. No one was inside the synagogue at the time and no one was injured. Although the police are investigating this as a hate crime, they say the suspect left no markings or other overt signs of anti-Semitism. Police are still searching for the suspect.
Beverly Hills Mayor John Mirisch issued a statement saying, “This cowardly attack hits at the heart of who we are as a community. It is not just an attack on the Jewish community of Beverly Hills, it is an attack on all of us. The entire city stands in solidarity behind Nessah, its members and congregants. We are committed to catching the criminal who desecrated a holy place on Shabbat — of all days — and bringing him to justice.”
There were no services at Nessah synagogue on Saturday morning. While some people arrived to discover the shul cordoned off, others received phone calls from members and friends prior to services, informing them what had happened.
AJC Regional Director Richard Hirschhaut was at the scene and told the Journal, “We’re very pleased the Beverly Hills Police Department is treating this investigation as a presumptive hate crime. There is a term in law, ‘the thing speaks for itself,’ and we believe, and we concur, this indeed is a grotesque act of hate and we look forward to the perpetrator being brought to justice.”
He added, “We stand in solidarity with the good people of Nessah Synagogue and the City of Beverly Hills and its official entities to assist in the investigation and in the healing of this terrible episode.”
Sam Kermanian, a senior advisor to the Iranian American Jewish Federation and a self-described “unofficial member” of Nessah, told the Journal, “I’m here to thank BHPD for their tremendous response.”
Shortly after the attack, local resident Isaac Yomtovian sent out a statement saying:
“We, the Jews of LA and the US, must resist and fight these anti-Semitic acts, especially the destruction of our halls of prayers and homes of our holy scrolls of Torah…The forces of evil must face justice. To do so, we must become united and vocal, demanding from our community, regional and national leaders to take action and stop the hatred of free citizens of United States. Any and all acts of anti-Semitism must be recognized as an act of hate and punished by the laws of US. [The] FBI must do its job better and better each day.
“I highly recommend that (1) A day of fast be declared by all Iranian rabbis for the destruction of our holy scrolls of Torah;
(2) The day of fast should include lighting of the Hanukkah menorah and demonstrations in front of the mayor’s office, the offices of our senators and congressmen, as well as the Federal building;
(3) The entire Jewish population of LA must be mobilized to light the Hanukkah (Freedom) menorah in the streets and at home.
(4) We must reject these acts of antisemitism by writing to our senators and congressmen, and finally
(5) Demanding the FBI investigate these hate crimes and bring these thugs to justice.
Bereshis 12:3 Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)
3 And I will bless the one blessing you, and curse him that curses you; and kol mishpochot haadamah shall be blessed through you.[T.N. There is a brocha in this verse that many do not know but that every true follower of Moshiach should know.]
Where are the Irv Rubin’s of our time?
I watched the video, there is no mention of an arrest.
Seeing them on the floor actually brought tears to my eyes . And I’m not frum anymore , but that hurt
To see a sefer Torah treated like that…
I nearly fainted!
Can they arrest this man???
To me it certainly looks that Sifrei Torah’s were desicrated/damaged, contrary to the Mayor’s statement?
Baruch H-sh-m.
Awful!