Heirs of Brooklyn man sue Florida couple for $60 million for ‘ancient’ Bible 

The children and grandchildren of David Arakie filed the Brooklyn Federal Court suit against Sam and Aviva Greenberg of Boca Raton because they allegedly failed to return the full Hebrew set.

BY John Marzulli

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Published: Tuesday, July 22, 2014, 11:19 AM

Updated: Wednesday, July 23, 2014, 1:33 AM

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Sebastian Scheiner/APDavid Arakie’s heirs are suing Sam and Aviva Greenberg for $60 million because they allegedly haven’t returned an 'ancient' Bible.

A bad fight is breaking out over the Good Book.
A judge with the wisdom of Solomon will have to determine the rightful owners of an “ancient” Bible that’s now at the center of a $60 million lawsuit.
The heirs of a Brooklyn man who bequeathed to them the holy tome filed the big-bucks suit against a Florida couple who allegedly found the priceless heirloom in a suitcase and is refusing to return it.
The saga is sketched out in a suit filed Monday in Brooklyn Federal Court by the children and grandchildren of the Bible’s owner, David Arakie, who died in 1972. They are suing Sam and Aviva Greenberg of Boca Raton.
The couple took possession of the Bible after Aviva claims to have found it in a suitcase belonging to her late father, Zalmen Gurewicz, according to court papers.
Arakie allegedly lent the Bible to Gurewicz in 1960 “for the purpose of academic study,” the suit contends.
“The Bible is unique because it is one of the oldest known full sets of a Hebrew-language Bible and is in almost perfect condition . . . (and) is an important resource for biblical scholars,” the suit says.
Gurewicz was supposed to return the Bible to the heirs, but apparently did not. The plaintiffs contacted the Greenbergs last year and were promised it back, according to the suit.
But in January, a representative for the couple “hinted that they loaned or perhaps donated the Bible to a religious institution in memory of Gurewicz,” the suit says.
Samuel Greenberg told the Daily News on Tuesday that the suit is filled with errors, adding that the religious artifact is actually a “Torah,” not a Bible as referred to by the plaintiffs.
“I was never in possession of the Torah, nor was my wife,” Greenberg said.
“My father-in-law purchased the Torah and he donated it to a synagogue in Montreal while he was still alive.
“As far as I’m concerned they (the plaintiffs) are simply harassing us.”
Greenberg described his late father-in-law as a religious scholar, but did not know the details of how he obtained the holy book or how old it is.
“I don’t know whether it is worth very much or very little,” Greenberg said.
The suit, which did not disclose the age of the Bible, seeks return of the holy book.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/brooklyn-man-sue-florida-couple-60-million-ancient-bible-article-1.1875756#ixzz3AYWFfD8L