The famous synagogue and rabbi’s residence in Sadhora (Sadigura) Ukraine, outside Chernivtsi, was heavily damaged last week when a man described as mentally unstable broke into the building and set fire to a pile of books in its main hall.
The incident took place Thursday evening (November 27). Local Jewish community leader Mihailo Kraus told reporters that the man broke through the gate while the guard was briefly away from his post.
Inside the building, he then pulled religious books off the shelves, piled them onto the bimah, and set them alight, apparently using some form of accelerant.
Kraus said that the man had earlier tried to set fire to an Orthodox church, and that he was believed to be mentally ill. Antisemitism was not considered to be a motive.
Photos and videos showed extensive damage: the destroyed bimah, charred books littering the floor, smoke damage to the painted ceiling and walls.
Watch a local TV report, with automatic translation:
The guard said the man did not run away, but waited until police came and apprehended him.
Known as the Kloyz Kadisha, the huge, Moorish-style synagogue, with turrets, towers and big arched windows, was where one of the most flamboyant Hasidic dynasties held court in the 19th century. It was built by Rabbi Abraham Jacob Friedmann, who succeeded his father Rebbe Israel Friedman, the founder of the dynasty, and continued the opulent court.
For decades under the Soviets it housed a machine shop for collective farms, and later stood derelict.
The synagogue was rededicated 10 years ago after more than three years of reconstruction and renovation work. Hundreds of Hassidim came to Sadhora for the ceremony.
