By Hellen Zaboulani

On Monday, the Jerusalem District Court decreed that rare manuscripts, known as the “Damascus Crowns,” will remain in the faithful hands of Israel’s National Library, but under a public trust.  The decision for the future of the complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible, written in the 13th century in Europe, comes after a lengthy custody battle.  The court ruled that the books were “treasures of the Jewish people” that had “historic, religious and national importance” and must be preserved.

As reported by the Jerusalem Post, the court’s decision to allow the hundreds-of-years-old -manuscript to remain in the custody of National Library is probably based on the special conditions that the scrolls must be kept at, and the library’s ability to preserve them. “It’s very expensive and very difficult for an independent institution to preserve such documents,” said Aviad Stollman, former head of the collections at the National Library.

The Crowns were brought to Israel from the Jewish Community in Syria in 1993, during a Mossad operation with the help of Canadian activist and Syrian Rabbi Abraham Hamra. During the operation, one of the crowns, was slipped out in black plastic bag by a Canadian diplomat, as per a statement by Canadian activist Judy Feld Carr.   They were promised to be given back to Hamra, who would place them in the future, in a Syria Jewry cultural center, Ynet reported.

After the exceptional manuscripts were smuggled into the country, however, they have been treasured by The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the National Library. The Israel National Library’s mission is to preserve Jewish cultural objects, as per its own statements.

The court also stipulated that the elaborate bibles must be held by a public trust.  The trustees will include the Rishon LeZion or chief Sephardic rabbi of Israel, the president of the Hebrew University, who is currently Asher Cohen, Hamra, and members of the Syrian Jewish community in Israel. The “Crowns” had formerly been in the possession of the Syrian Jewish community for generations. Many members of that community came to Israel when it first became a state.  Those who remained in Syria underwent persecution and severely restricted freedom, with only a handful still there following the prolonged civil war.