Readers have been asking what is the status of the 19th century Aron ha Kodesh (Ark) that was dismantled and removed from the synagogue in Siret, Romania and sold at auction last month in Jerusalem for $50,000 — despite efforts by the Romanian Jewish Federation FEDROM to halt the sale.
As we reported, persons who removed the ark (ostensibly for restoration) substituted a replica in its place, rather than the restored original. FEDROM on Feb. 15 filed a criminal complaint for fraud and (to no avail) issued a statement urging the auction house to halt the sale.
There is not much further we can report at the moment.
What we know is that police investigations of the case are going on in both Romania and Israel, and we don’t expect to be able to post further developments while these investigations are under way.
See our earlier coverage of the story HERE and HERE and HERE.