German Jews dedicate synagogue

More than 70 years after its synagogue was destroyed by Nazi rioters, the German town of Herford dedicated a new Jewish house of worship.

The structure will serve the 106-member community, 90 percent of whom are immigrants from the former Soviet Union.

The price tag for the new synagogue is about $2.7 million, a third of which was borne by the German government. Another $137,000 is needed, according to community member Ruben Heinemann, head of the building fund.

Heinemann, 47, said his late father and uncles had spoken often of the old synagogue of Herford, which was burned down in 1938. — jta