Rock thrown at Reform worshipers on Simhat Torah

A rock was thrown at worshipers in the Kol Haneshama Reform synagogue in Jerusalem on Sunday night during the celebrations for the Simhat Torah holiday.

According to Sarah Barenstein, chair of the synagogue’s board of governors, the rock fell amid a crowd of numerous people who were dancing with the Torah scrolls at the time, narrowly missing several of them.

The incident was reported to the police.

Barenstein said that more than 200 people had participated in the Simhat Torah prayer services and events, and despite being shaken for a moment, the celebrations and dancing continued in full force after the incident.

She said the synagogue, located in the capital’s Baka neighborhood, has good relations with the Orthodox community and that congregants feel like “an established part of the Jerusalem landscape,” adding that she believed the attack was an isolated incident.

“This is not the story of Kol Haneshama,” she said. “We are a thriving, wonderful community of people who pray together, support each other, do social justice activities together, we’ve had hundreds of people participate in our prayer services over the holidays.”

“There is a certain amount of incitement against the Reform community in the country however, so we do have to be aware of that and it’s important that it be on record that it happened,” she said.