Society

Ambassador of Israel in Georgia Shabtai Tsur visited recently robbed synagogue of Gori

Today Ambassador of Israel in Georgia Shabtai Tsur visited Gori and recently robbed synagogue there. Five out of ten unique Sefer Torahs kept there have been stolen and five are severely damaged. Ambassador arrived in Gori together with the leaders of the Jewish community Gabai Merab Chanchalashvili, Jamlet Khukhashvili, Shalva Tetruashvili and others and took a Sefer Torah from the Great Synagogue of Tbilisi to Gori so that the Shabbat prayers would not be hindered due to non-existence of the holy scripts. Gori synagogue was also visited by the Head of Gori Municipality Davit Oniashvili and the Head of the State Agency for Religious Issues Zaza Vashakmadze. Representatives of Gori Jewish community also gathered there. "A very sad fact has happened in Gori - the synagogue has been robbed and five out of ten Sefer Torahs are stolen, the others are damaged. I was born in Georgia and well am acquainted with this culture. This is a unique country where antisemitism has never happened, Jews and Georgians have co-existed side by side peacefully throughout centuries and next year Israel and Georgia will celebrate 25 years of impressive diplomatic relations. This assures me that investigation will be successfully finished in the nearest future and culprits will be duly punished" - Ambassador of Israel stated. It has to be noted that Gori synagogue is one of those eight synagogues on the territory of Georgia which have recently been rehabilitated with the assistance of the former Prime Minister of Georgia Bidzina Ivanishvili.