Congregants testify that financial straits prompted plan to sell bells at oldest US synagogue
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Congregants from Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island — the nation's oldest synagogue — say they were in financial straits when they decided in 2012 to sell a set of ceremonial bells worth millions of dollars.
They testified in federal court Wednesday that they had no reason to believe a New York congregation had a claim on the bells.
New York's Congregation Shearith Israel, the nation's first Jewish congregation, says it owns the bells.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
The two groups are suing each other.
Amid the dispute, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston rescinded its $7.4 million offer to buy the bells.