Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 9:28 pm
NEW YORK – As an employee entered the Nessah Synagogue at 142 South Rexford Drive in Beverly Hills at 7:00 am on Shabbos morning, he discovered that the door was open and furniture was overturned. Several tashmishei kedushah, including siddurim and taleisim, were damaged as well. The sifrei Torah were strewn about but were not seriously damaged, and their was no structural damage in the incident.
Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime but report that there is no evidence to suggest that the attack was anti-Semitic in nature. The synagogue’s main scrolls were locked up and undamaged.
Security cameras showed one suspect traversing through an alley at Rexford and Elm south of Wilshire Blvd. around 2:00 am and then forcing his way into the location, ransacking the interior.
The suspect is described as a male white, 20-25 years of age, short dark curly hair, thin build, possibly wearing prescription glasses, shorts, low top shoes (possibly Pumas) and carried a backpack and pulled a rolling suitcase.
Beverly Hills Police Department reported that nothing seems to have been stolen during the intrusion, and no one was on injured.
Police are investigating it as a hate crime, although the intruder did not leave any markings or signs of anti-Semitism.
Additional police patrols were supplied to the area, and significant efforts are underway to identify and apprehend the suspect.
The leadership of Nessah Synagogue plan to initiate cleanup after Shabbos and will be open as usual on Sunday morning.
“This cowardly act hits at the heart of who we are as a community,” said Mayor John Mirisch. “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 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. We are equally committed that our city will continue to be a welcoming place for Jews and for all.”
Nessah Synagogue is the largest Persian Jewish synagogue in the L.A. area and possibly the largest in the world. The shul was founded by Hacham Yedidiah Shofet, the late former Chief Rabbi of Tehran, after he left Teheran, and his son Rabbi David Shofet has been the senior Rabbi for many years.
Source: Hamodia