There were fires in shuls in both Yerushalayim and Emanuel during Shavuos that also left a number of apartments damaged.
During the afternoon hours of Shavuos 5774 calls came in to the fire dispatcher reporting a blaze in the Jerusalem forest in the Har Nof area. The fire was dangerously close to Har Nof buildings and unfortunately it did spread to those buildings before being brought under control. The flames engulfed a shul located in an apartment building. Firefighters evacuated the tenants of the building until the fire was brought under control. The shul was badly damaged but B’chasdei Hashem the sifrei Torah were spared due to the heroic efforts of an avreich who ran inside and removed them from the fire. The avreich was treated for smoke inhalation. One apartment was totally destroyed and a second badly damaged. A number of other apartments were less seriously damaged. At least four acres of forestry land were burned in the blaze.
Fire investigators believe the fire was the result of an arson attack. Just last week there were two fires in shuls, also the result of arson. Those attacks were against the shul at the rest stop along Highway 6 (Kvish 6) and in Petach Tikvah.
In Yishuv Emanuel in Shomron there was a yomtov fire too, the result of yahrzeit candles in the shul on Beis Yisrael Street. Fire investigators report the fire was the result of placing the candles on a plastic chair, which was left unattended. Damage to the shul and hundreds of sifrei kodesh is reported to be heavy.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Posted on Isru Chag Shavuos in Eretz Yisrael)
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5 Responses
Har Nof: Numerous factual errors in article. Fire was alive early in the morning. Firemen put it out & it restarted once they left. Took them 40 minutes to arrive the second time. Ezras nashim was damaged but ezras gevarim was largly intact. Shul is a seperate structure – not in an apartment building. Not so clear that it was arson – there is talk that small kids were playing with matches. Pictures can be seen at: http://www.kikarhashabat.co.il/%D7%91%D7%A6%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%99-%D7%94%D7%97%D7%92-%D7%91%D7%99%D7%AA-%D7%9B%D7%A0%D7%A1%D7%AA-%D7%91%D7%94%D7%A8-%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%A3-%D7%A2%D7%9C%D7%94-%D7%91%D7%90%D7%A9-%D7%97%D7%A9%D7%93.html
Unlike for price tags against Arabs, the silence from the Israeli government and secular media now and the burning of Sifrei Torah last week is deafening.
The shul in Har Nof is not located in an apartment. It is in a caravan at the edge of the Jerusalem forest. The shul was not engulfed. The Ezras Nashim, which was an addition to the caravan was badly damaged, and had to be dismantled. Part of the roof of the shul was burned at the point where it met the Ezras Nashim. Bichasdei Hashem the shul is intact. To the best of my knowledge the fire did not originate in the shul. It originated in the forest.
I live in Har Nof. It was 100% NOT arson. It was two little boys 5 and 8 who were paying with matches.
I was also next door to the fire – the amount of smoke rising was not to be believed. But another missing fact – 2 of the 3 sifrei Torah were saved by young (13-14 year old) boys who were learning there and instinctually ran to save the Torah.