Long
Beach police say a Staten Island man ransacked the
Chabad of The Beaches Temple
last Saturday and stole several religious items, including two torahs.
Police
later arrested Hunter McLerath, 23, on the beach in Long Beach. Officials say
some of the religious items were recovered, but not the two sacred texts. They are believed to be somewhere on the beach.
Town
of Hempstead Supervisor Don Clavin says he instructed lifeguards to walk the
beach in search of the torahs. They
will be walking from Point Lookout to Atlantic Beach in hopes they turn
up.
Rabbi
Eli Goodman, who heads up the Chabad of the Beaches Temple, called it a
“bizarre situation” and “very disheartening.”
"The
torahs are our most precious possession that we have,” he said. “They
are our heritage and our legacy."
Mike
Romano, the lifeguard manager, says lifeguards often come across all sorts of
items, such as wedding bands and iPhones. He said it was the first time his
crew was looking for anything like this.
Rabbi
Goodman says he is praying the torahs turn up. "Hopefully they find
it, God willing."
Anyone
with information about the missing texts should contact the temple or town
officials.