12 Torah scrolls stolen from synagogue near Paris in suspected antisemitic attack

The Jewish Community Protection Service (SPCJ) in Paris reported Monday that thieves broke into the Grand Synagogue of Levallois (ACCIL), located on the outskirts of Paris, overnight Sunday and stole 12 Torah scrolls.

Rabbi Chalom Lellouche discovered the break-in early Monday morning when he arrived at the synagogue to prepare for a Bar Mitzvah ceremony. He immediately notified the SPCJ, which carried out an initial assessment before informing police and determining what had been taken.

Investigators noted that the theft appeared to be targeted. The perpetrators took only the Torah scrolls and left behind other items inside the synagogue that could potentially have had financial value. Police said the thieves appeared to have acted professionally, demonstrating knowledge of the synagogue’s security measures and carrying out the operation quickly.

City Mayor Agnes Pottier-Dumas was notified of the incident and issued a statement. “It was with shock and anger that I learned this morning that the Jewish community of Levallois had been struck at what is most sacred and precious to it. Whatever the motives of those who committed this sacrilegious act, which has profoundly shaken the Jewish community to its core, the antisemitic nature of this despicable crime must be denounced.”

“We also hope that these sacred scrolls, whose value is beyond measure, can be recovered,” she added. “And for those who believe, we stand united in prayer with the Jewish community, [which was] wounded by this heinous act.”

Rabbi Lellouche and Philippe Cohen, president of the ACCIL, a Jewish community association connected to the Grand Synagogue, released a video. “It was clearly a criminal act, but also an antisemitic one. This is a spiritual trauma for all the Jewish community of France and, indeed, across the world.”

Earlier this year, the European Jewish Congress (EJC) reported that 1,320 antisemitic incidents were recorded in France in 2025, saying the figures reflected the continued presence of anti-Jewish hostility in French society.

“Over the past twenty-five years, antisemitic incidents have never reached such levels as those observed during the last three years,” the EJC report stated. “The sharp escalation followed the attacks of 7 October 2023, after which antisemitic acts in France quadrupled between 2023 and 2024.”

“Antisemitic acts accounted for 53 per cent of all anti-religious incidents recorded in France in 2025, even though Jews represent less than 1 per cent of the national population, estimated at between 450,000 and 500,000 people. This disproportion underscores the specific vulnerability of the Jewish community and the persistence of targeted hostility.”

France is home to one of Europe’s largest Jewish communities, with most French Jews living in Paris and Marseille and smaller communities in cities including Lyon, Nice, Toulouse, and Strasbourg. Over the past two decades, a number of French Jews have emigrated, with some moving to French-speaking regions of Canada and others making aliyah (immigrating) to Israel.