An appeal has been launched for the return of two Torah scrolls (Sifrei Torah) stolen from a synagogue in Manchester.
The scrolls were taken from Beis HaMedrash Torah Etz Chaim in Salford early in the morning last Friday.
Footage captured on CCTV shows three men wearing hi-vis entering the building with a trolley and then leaving the building with a safe which they loaded into a van before fleeing.
The only items in the safe were the two scrolls. A committee member of the synagogue told Manchester Evening News (MEN): “It looks like they knew where they were going. They went upstairs into the synagogue. They took away our safe which is very, very heavy.
“In 33 minutes they were out of there with the two scrolls that are very sentimental.”
The Sifrei Torah, according to members of the synagogue, are up to 100 years old.
“There's no value for the public, but for us it's very sentimental,” one member told MEN. “It's very devastating news and it's really difficult on us, it's worrying thinking about they are going to do with these scrolls.”
The member added: “I think they'll be devastated with what they find. For them it's not worth even a penny. You can't sell these things.
“It doesn't have a second hand value; nobody would buy these things without knowing where it's from.”
They went on: "We are very scared. We don't want them to handle [the scrolls] with disrespect. You have to be very respectful, you can't chuck it in the bin, the floor and you can't burn these things.
“For us it's more important to get them back than to find out who took it. Our effort is to get the scrolls back.”
The synagogue is offering a £2,000 reward for anyone that can find and safely return the scrolls.
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police told MEN: “Officers are aware of this, no arrests have been made at this time, and it is being investigated.”
And a Community Security Trust (CST) spokesperson said: “Torah scrolls are holy and much cherished, and their loss will be extremely upsetting for the Jewish community. We urge anyone with any information to assist in their return by contacting the police or CST.”
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