Twelve torah scrolls were stolen on Sunday night from the Grand Synagogue of Levallois (ACCIL) on the outskirts of Paris, the synagogue's rabbi and the Jewish Community Protection Service (SPCJ) confirmed Monday.
According to initial reports, two individuals broke into the building and stole the scrolls. This occurred despite the premises being protected by cameras and extensive surveillance systems.
Rabbi Chalom Lellouche said he discovered the theft on Monday morning while preparing to host a bar mitzvah. As soon as he reported it, SPCJ conducted a thorough search of the premises and then called the police. The investigation is ongoing.
"It was with shock and anger that I learned this morning that the Jewish community of Levallois had been struck at what is most sacred and precious to it," said Levallois Mayor Agnès Pottier-Dumas.
She said the municipal and national police were immediately notified and have been working on the case since this morning.
A 'clearly criminal act' but also antisemitic
"Whatever the motives of those who committed this sacrilegious act, which has profoundly shaken the Jewish community to its core, the antisemitic nature of this despicable crime must be denounced," she said, noting that the Torah alone was targeted, and that more expensive objects of non-religious value were left untouched.
"We also hope that these sacred scrolls, whose value is beyond measure, can be recovered. And for those who believe, we stand united in prayer with the Jewish community, wounded by this heinous act."
Rabbi Chalom Lellouche and Philippe Cohen, President of ACCIL Levallois, released a joint video denouncing the severity of the incident.
"It was clearly a criminal act, but also an antisemitic one," the men said.
They also noted that the assailants were clearly professionals, having successfully skirted the walls and evaded the security systems.
"This is a spiritual trauma for all the Jewish community of France, and indeed across the world," added Chellouche and Cohen.