Vandals Break Into Virginia Synagogue
Image by Google Maps
(JTA) — Two people broke into an Orthodox synagogue in Norfolk, Virginia, and spent two hours wandering through its halls and vandalizing the inside of the building.
The late night hijinks were captured by surveillance cameras placed in the B’Nai Israel Congregation’s hallways.
The man and woman entered the synagogue through an unlocked front door at 10:45 on Tuesday evening, the Virginian-Pilot reported.
“Our congregation is saddened to report the recent break in and theft which occurred at our synagogue. Fortunately, our security cameras captured high resolution images of the perpetrators, and measures have been taken to improve security at our premises. We are working closely with the Norfolk Police Department and appreciate how seriously they have taken this incident. We are confident that the case will be resolved by arrests,” congregation president Jeffrey Brooke said in a statement.
“Whoever did that garbage does not represent the rest of this community,” Daniel McNamara, who lives near the synagogue and knows people who attend services there, told ABC affiliate 13 News.
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism so that we can be prepared for whatever news 2025 brings.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
