Israel Police recover 150 yr-old Jewish ledger stolen in Prague

 

By JPOST.COM STAFF

 

Police this morning identified an ancient book of historical Jewish significance allegedly stolen in 2007 from a Jewish museum in Prague and arrested several suspects in the matter.

Photo courtesy: Israel Police, Lahav 333

The book is a record of the Jewish community in the Czech Republic, which was written between 1835 and 1860. It was apparently stolen from the synagogue located inside the museum.

As part of a cooperative effort between Czech law enforcement and Israeli intelligence services, investigators were able to to detect the stolen artifact. Czech authorities asked for assistance in the case when it came to light that those involved in the alleged theft were living in Israel.

This morning, investigators from special task force 433, a fraud detection unit within the Israeli police, located the book which was being housed in a private home in Petah Tikva. The book’s historical and religious value is considered priceless to the Czech Jewish community, but its monetary value is estimated at 550,000 CZK, or about 20,000 euros .

The suspects are expected to be released to their homes after an initial investigation under restrictive conditions.

 

View original The Jerusalem Post publication at: http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Watch-Historic-Jewish-text-from-Prague-stolen-years-ago-found-in-Israel-395935