A 17th-century synagogue was desecrated in the Ternopil region

In the village of Husiatyn in the Ternopil region, acts of vandalism have been reported at a historic 17th-century fortified synagogue, which is an architectural monument of national significance. According to ZAXID.NET, the perpetrators broke down the interior doors, set up a place inside the building to consume alcoholic beverages, and damaged elements of the sacred niche—the Aron HaKodesh.

The incident came to light thanks to local historian Boris Golyaev, who had been cleaning and guarding the building on his own for a long time. According to the researcher, access to the synagogue became possible after a section of the wall collapsed about a year ago. Traces of the teenagers’ presence were found inside the building: empty alcohol bottles, syringes, and trash. The local historian noted that he had repeatedly expelled groups of minors aged 10 to 17 from the site.

The building is currently in critical condition. Boris Golyaev took it upon himself to carry out temporary repairs to seal the breach in the wall in order to restrict access by unauthorized persons. The situation is complicated by the building’s legal status: the synagogue is listed as a monument of national significance, but in reality has not been transferred to the custody of any relevant agency, which prevents the allocation of budget funds for its restoration or preservation.

As a reminder, a major emergency occurred in the city of Gadyach: a large fire almost completely destroyed the central building of the pilgrimage center and the synagogue located near the grave of Rabbi Shneor Zalman. The incident resulted in losses amounting to many millions.