NORWICH – Glass shards still occasionally poke up through the well-worn floor boards, intricate cabinetry shelving and sweeping staircase risers at the Norwich Jewish Center more than a year after vandals ransacked it.
“We can’t seem to get rid of the glass. We keep on discovering it, from (seemingly) nowhere,” said the congregation’s co-President Leslie Dopkeen.
The April 6, 2008 assault on the historic, three-story building on 70-76 S. Broad St. was called a senseless hate crime by authorities. An anti-Semitic message was also tagged on a wall in graffiti and several sacred worship items were damaged.
It involved an investigation by the Norwich City Police, the New York State Police and the FBI which resulted in the apprehension of three youths, between the ages of 13 and 14. The youths were arrested, charged with felony third degree burglary and second degree criminal mischief, and later served between 5 and 30 days in juvenile detention.
The devastation, estimated at more than $200,000, remains.
“We want to remind the community that we have not yet even finished repairing the center, so it is very much fresh in our minds,” said Jewish Center member Fanny Sacks.
Today, most of the lights in the synagogue have been replaced, including the memorial wall lights where rows of tiny beams serve to represent people in the congregation who have died. Each had been systematically crushed.
However, the eternal light, which represents the presence of the holy spirit and serves as guardian of the temple, has yet to be replaced. The light not only went off during the rampage, but the sacred fixture was smashed beyond repair.
“We’ve spent a lot of time and money and still there are stained glass and leaded glass cabinet doors and decorations that we have not been able to restore,” said Sacks.
The center’s insurance policy covered the lights, a new security and electrical system, prayer books, prayer shawls, kitchen dishes and equipment, and living room and library furniture.
Other items like a piano, an oriental runner, and spindles on the staircase have yet to be replaced.
Dopkeen said the Center’s leadership has been faced with the difficult decision of possibly selling the building as it has long needed a new roof and heating system.
“Now’s not a great time to sell. We will attend to necessary projects, but it’s difficult to know how to approach what needs to be replaced first. I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to fully recoup or recover,” she said. “Our older congregation members are still bewildered.”
The incident shocked the greater Norwich religious community and led to interfaith prayer services and outreach in support of members of the Jewish faith. The incident was the second time in five years the synagogue’s been vandalized. In 2003, windows in the rear of the building were broken out. An individual was convicted of that crime and served time.