Israel – Antique Torah Crowns Stolen from Negev During Simchat Torah

Israel – Five Torah crowns and several finials were stolen from a synagogue for Cochin Jews in the town of Nevatim in the Negev, during the Simchat Torah holiday.
Among these were 300-year-old crowns that had survived the journey from India to Israel.

“The night watchman called me frantically from the synagogue late last night,” the town’s security officer said. “When I arrived, I was appalled. The crowns and finials, made of gold and silver, had been stolen from the synagogue.”
“These are very precious crowns, they are holy objects and antiques,” he explained.

“We stood with tears in our eyes, speechless. The money is a negligible issue in this case. These are antique artifacts that were carried all the way from Cochin, in India. It’s the holiest of holies,” the officer said, describing his and the community’s stunned response.

Nevatim is the center of Cochin Jewry in Israel, and the synagogue where the theft took place is a replica of a synagogue from the region of southwestern India where the community hails from. The style of the purloined crowns and bells is unique to Cochin Jewry.
The thieves did not have to search far to find the loot. In keeping with Cochin tradition, on the eve of the holiday the synagogue had placed the Torah scrolls on a platform decorated for Simhat Torah, leaving them out for all to see.

Several moshav members broke into tears at the sight of the Torah scrolls missing their antique embellishments. But despite the theft, Simchat Torah prayers in the synagogue commenced as planned.

Regional police are investigating the theft.
“The perpetrators are outsiders who breached the town fence, stole and left. We are aware of the sensitivity of the issue, but no suspects have yet been arrested,” reported regional police chief Ilan Peretz.

Regional head councilman Moshe Powell said “this is a terrible crime to commit on Simchat Torah… I am confident that police will do everything to bring the perpetrators to justice.”

“The Torah scrolls, the crowns and the rimonim (bells) have been with the moshav residents for many years,” said moshav official Avraham Or. “Generation upon generation of people from Cochin grew up on this tradition. When we discovered the theft, all the residents were dispirited, and the moshav was filled with great sadness.”