Stolen 200-Year-Old Ark Reaches Final Home in Israel

IFCJ Canada  |  November 7, 2025

In 2016, a Romanian Torah ark more than a century year old was stolen from the town of Siret. Ynet reports that after nine years of international searching, the ark has been found and is now on permanent display at the Yad Vashem Museum in Jerusalem.

Located near the Ukrainian border, Siret had a large Jewish community, with the ark originally standing in its Great Synagogue. Before the Nazis invaded, there were eight synagogues in the area. Only a few Jews survived when the majority of the town was deported to concentration camps. Sadly, no Jews live in Siret today.

The Torah ark — long considered the pride of the community — survived the war and remained in the synagogue for decades. In 2016, it was discovered that the original ark had disappeared and been replaced with a crude imitation featuring incorrect Hebrew inscriptions, apparently to conceal the theft.

In 2019, Yohanan Ron-Zinger, chairman of the World Organization of Bukovina Jews, received a phone call from a friend in Chernivtsi who said he had noticed the fake ark through the synagogue’s locked doors. Ron-Zinger began investigating and discovered that the original ark had been listed for sale by an international auction house. Further inquiries revealed that it was stored in a furniture warehouse in the central Israeli city of Rishon Lezion.

The discovery led to a lengthy legal battle in both Romania and Israel. Ultimately, the ark was returned to the Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania, its legal owner, and later transferred to Yad Vashem.

Now, everyone can learn the story of this historical Jewish artifact in Jerusalem – the city spoken of in the Scriptures held in the ark.

 Now, everyone can learn the story of this historical Jewish artifact in Jerusalem –the city spoken of in the Scriptures that it used to house in the Great Synagogue of Siret.