Police investigating desecration of Torah scroll at George Washington University frat

[naraht]

https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/31/us/ge...rah/index.html

This is at the edge of what the forum covers, but I couldn't find better...

The Tau Kappa Epsilon house at George Washington University was broken into and vandalized including a Torah scroll torn and having liquid laundry detergent dumped on it.

According to the article TKE at GWU is about 1/4 Jewish, similar to the campus at large. Honestly to me, the most surprising thing in the article is that a Torah was found at any Fraternity House other than one that is Historically Jewish (AEPi, ZBT, etc.) Torahs are generally *expensive* ($30,000 to $100,000), since a proper torah is hand written. This appears to be a smaller one, though.

According to
https://www.gwhatchet.com/2021/10/31...-campus-house/

The chapter has a torah as it is one of the religious texts used to swear new members in. A christian bible was moved, but not disturbed...

I'm also curious as to why a Torah, A book bound complete machine printed Hebrew Bible would be acceptable for an oath for most Jews, I believe. (And I'd expect the really Orthodox Jews to go AEPi)

See https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/03/us/co...rnd/index.html top center for an example for a Jew taking an oath of office to serve in congress...

Reaction of the University, the chapter and the national fraternity are appropriate...

(Disclaimer, I'm Jewish)