Sunnyvale, CA - A Synagogues Big Loss In Theft

Sunnyvale, CA - The person who broke into a Sunnyvale synagogue office and stole computers, phones and software made off with not just equipment, but the recorded heart of a community.

Since the Synagogue of Sunnyvale opened three years ago, it has offered services for Jewish families that now number more than 500. No financial information about any of them was stolen, but hundreds of kids waiting to go to summer camp will have to register all over again. And the rabbi must somehow re-create years' worth of historical data about programs and people.
Police say this incident is one in a series of burglaries in the area, they say that dental offices recently have been targeted, and the synagogue is located in a building occupied by several dentists' offices.

The secretary discovered the break-in when she came in to work and noticed a broken window and a mess."We are grateful the synagogue was not harmed,'' they said, "but from a financial standpoint this is devastating.'' Machines can be replaced, but the reconstruction of records will take a long time. That task might have been easier, except the thieves also took many of the backup files.