103 Torah scrolls from Hungary found in Russia

BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Hungarian Jewish leaders say they have found 103 Torah scrolls taken from Hungary during the Holocaust in a Russian library.

Rabbi Slomo Koves said Tuesday the sacred texts were discovered in the manuscript section of the Lenin State Regional Library of the western Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod.

Koves said negotiations are underway with Russian officials to restore the scrolls and possibly display them in international exhibits.

Koves, of the Orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch community, called the find he helped make last year "of historical significance," adding that Hungary's government supports efforts to restore the scrolls.

A Torah is a handmade copy on parchment scrolls of the first five books of the Old Testament.

About 550,000 Hungarian Jews were killed in the Holocaust, while about 100,000 Jews live in Hungary today.