Turkish Authorities Seize 1,000-Year-Old Gold-Embroidered Hebrew Books In Mardin

by CrownHeights.info

Multiple thousand-year-old Jewish books and manuscripts were seized by Turkish Authorities in a raid last Friday believed to be in connection with items stolen from the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue in Damascus’ Jobar area.

According to a report from RepublicWorld, Turkish Authorities made the discovery after a person tipped them off to activity in the City of Mardin in southern Turkey. Police arrested five people and confiscated gold-embroidered parchment texts written in Hebrew that are thought to be between 1,000 and 2,500 years old.

The beautiful texts include depictions of animals, a Menorah, and have the Star of David embossed on their covers. In total, four texts and a Sefer Torah were recovered in all.

Police believe that the items were stolen from the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue in Damascus’ Jobar region and smuggled to Turkey by the al-Rahman Legion, a Syrian rebel group. The group has denied the accusations.

The items had been hidden in plastic bags and enclosed in an empty canvas bag when they were discovered.