Worshippers arriving for Friday night prayers at a Yemenite synagogue in the central Israeli town of Kadima-Zoran found the building desecrated, with at least two Torah scrolls on the floor and prayer books ripped apart, police said on Saturday.
The Mishkan Shalom Synagogue, located near Netanya, was littered with torn pages from holy texts when congregants came for Shabbat services.
💔 ISRAEL: Torah pogrom inside Kadima Tzoran synagogue shocks local community
— Jewish Breaking News (@JBreakingNews) November 22, 2025
Worshippers arriving for Friday night prayers in Kadima Tzoran community were met with a scene of devastation in the Yemenite synagogue: Torah scrolls thrown on the floor, pages torn to shreds from… pic.twitter.com/jb6kwgOABq
Police said no property was taken and the synagogue safe was untouched, indicating the break-in was an act of deliberate vandalism rather than theft.
“We are in shock, this is a terrorist attack,” one community member told Israel’s Channel 12 News.
Israeli Religious Services Ministry Director-General Yehuda Avidan called the incident “a crossing of a moral and ethical red line.” He said it evoked some of the darkest chapters in Jewish history.
Officers launched a fast-track investigation, but said an initial check had not revealed clear signs of forced entry and that investigators are looking into a range of possible motives.
Local officials arranged an alternate venue so the Yemenite congregation could hold Shabbat prayers, and the ministry said it would help repair the damage and restore the synagogue for regular use.
