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13.09.05, 12:22
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Bid to save Torah at flooded synagogue
September 13, 2005 - 2:55PM
American volunteers with an Israeli charity said on Monday they were trying
to rescue an ancient Torah scroll in a New Orleans synagogue flooded by
Hurricane Katrina.
"We are trying to get a helicopter so we can have an aerial view of the
place, to figure out what's more suitable to get access," said Rabbi Isaac
Leider, from Zaka, an Israeli rescue and recovery group.
Rabbi Leider said the Beth Israel synagogue contained eight or nine scrolls,
including one from Europe that is more than 250 years old.
Surrounded by five metres of water, the synagogue is located near a canal
that overflowed during the August 29 storm.
"The scrolls at all the other synagogues [in New Orleans] were taken out,"
Rabbi Leider said.
Zaka is known in Israel for providing emergency aid at the scene of bombings.
Last week, six American volunteers with Zaka arrived in New Orleans, offering
aid and assistance to Jewish victims of the hurricane.
"We took care of a few Jewish deceased last week," Rabbi Leider said. "Two of
them died in a nursing home while they were being evacuated."
One victim was buried in Baton Rouge and the other was transferred to New
York, he added.
As President George Bush paid his first visit to the city, the confirmed
death toll from the hurricane rose to more than 500.
Greater New Orleans, which has a population of 1.4 million, had a small
community of about 10,000 Jews.
AFP
