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‘A miracle’ – None injured as missile destroys Haifa synagogue

“The missile hit exactly where we pray,” says regular worshipper at Avot v’Banim synagogue.

By World Israel News Staff

A historic synagogue with an active congregation was destroyed by a Hezbollah missile on Saturday night, just a few hours after prayers were held in the building.

The Avot v’Banim synagogue in Haifa’s central Carmel neighborhood was directly struck by the rocket, with dozens of nearby apartments damaged by shrapnel and numerous cars set ablaze by the blast.

“We had a great miracle. Two hours before [the rocket hit] we were still praying here in the synagogue. Look what happened to us here,” Gershon Zaft, a regular worshipper at the synagogue, told Hebrew-language outlet Ynet.

“It’s a great miracle that there are no casualties,” Zaft stressed. “The missile hit exactly where we pray. It will take a long time to rebuild our synagogue.”

Clips ciruclating on social media of the scene showed that the synagogue’s roof was completely destroyed, with much of the structure appearing to implode.

“The destruction is extensive,” Gideon Goldenbar, the synagogue’s gabbay (caretaker), told Ynet. “We hope that we will be able to salvage some Torah scrolls.”

The efforts to retrieve Torah scrolls and other holy objects from the synagogue are complicated by the huge amount of debris and the weather, as a rainstorm is expected in the coming days.

The synagogue is located in a historic Templar-style building, erected in the 1800s by Germans in Ottoman-era Israel.

The missile strike comes on the heels of reports that Israel and Lebanon are nearing a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict.

While Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar recently confirmed that Israel is “closer than ever” to reaching a diplomatic agreement that would see Hezbollah stop its daily rocket, missile, and explosive drone attacks against Israel, the timeline for such a deal remains unclear.