Ex-chief rabbi’s Jerusalem synagogue torched by arsonist

Police launch investigation after Jerusalem synagogue, linked to former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, vandalized and torched, destroying prayer books.

By World Israel News Staff

A synagogue in central Jerusalem was vandalized and torched in an apparent act of arson early Sunday morning.

Before dawn Sunday, a report was received at the Jerusalem police hotline regarding a fire at a synagogue in the Sanhedria neighborhood of the capital.

The synagogue, Ohr Haviv, is linked to former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, who serves as its spiritual leader.

Police officers from the Lev HaBira station were dispatched to the scene, along with firefighting and rescue teams who worked to extinguish the fire.

“As a result of the fire, damage was caused at the site, but there were no injuries,” a police spokesperson said.

Prayer books and other holy texts were found vandalized and burned.

However, fire department officials said that most of the synagogue’s holy books were spared.

“We arrived at the scene within minutes and identified smoke seeping through the roof,” said Fire Chief Oren Avrahami, who directed firefighting efforts at the scene.

“We acted quickly to contain the fire and prevent damage to the holy books. The incident concluded without injuries and with minimal damage to property.”

Authorities say that in addition to the burning of the synagogue, a nearby apartment was vandalized, with a cross drawn on the front door.

A police investigation into the incident has been opened, with the Shin Bet internal security agency also taking part in the probe.

“I am shocked by the horrific scenes of the fire and the spray-painting of swastikas at the synagogue of the Chief Sephardic Rabbi, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, the spiritual leader of the Shas movement,” said National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit).

“This is a disturbing incident with severe antisemitic overtones. Especially in the Jewish state, there must be zero tolerance for antisemitic incidents!”

Video footage taken from the synagogue’s security camera shows a lone arsonist moving through the house of worship at the time of the incident.