Many in the Jewish community are horrified after red swastikas were found painted on tombstones in a Jewish cemetery in Brooklyn Sunday morning.
The photos above, provided by the Members of Suburban Temple - Koi Ami, show the vandals spray-painted swastikas on headstones at the Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery. Brooklyn Police provided the police report Monday, stating that the incident was reported at about 10:20 a.m. Sunday, and that the vandalism occurred sometime between 12 a.m. Saturday and 10:20 a.m. Sunday.
Danielle, who didn’t want News 5 to use her last name in fear of retaliation, said her father is buried at the same cemetery where the vandalism took place. She usually visits him at the Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery once a month, yet this time, Danielle rushed to his grave after learning about the crime.
“So I was home yesterday. I happen to get on Facebook, saw the hate that was right here. My dad is buried out here. So right away, my 15-year-old daughter and I came out, and my dad's area was okay, but in the front here, there was red swastikas on probably almost 30 headstones,” said Danielle.
The Brooklyn police department reports 23 tombstones had swastikas painted on them in red, which is the visual representation of Nazi Germany.
“It’s really a clear message of hate when you see something like that, especially so targeted to a Jewish cemetery,” said Kelly Fishman, the Regional Director for the anti-Defamation League.
The Anti-defamation League says this incident is just one of many seen across the nation towards the Jewish community since the start of the Israel-Palestine war.
“Since October 7, we've seen over a 312% increase in anti-Semitic incidents — 832 being reported to us,” said Fishman.
When the Jewish Federation of Cleveland learned about the crime, they shared their disappointment regarding the incident via Facebook:
They immediately tried to find someone to clean off the paint, but before they could do anything, the Jewish community jumped in to help.
“They got people together very quickly, and we're already over there, cleaning up and washing the headstones to get the paint off,” said Dan Zelman, the board chair of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland.
Approximately 20 volunteers took it upon themselves to remove the graffiti from the headstones, including Danielle and her daughter.
“My daughter and I started to drive out of the cemetery, and we saw a bunch of people starting to gather. They said they were going to clean, and my daughter actually said, 'Mom, we have to stay,'” said Danielle.
They cleaned for hours until all the paint was gone.
The Anti-Defamation League reminds everyone that no race or faith should ever experience hate.
“At no point should anyone ever feel intimidated, feel fear, feel scared to go to school or to work because of their identities,” said Fishman.
The Council of Islamic Relations said they are also seeing an increase in hate towards Muslims and Arabs. The council says it's received nearly 1,300 reports in the last month, which marks a 216% increase.
The incident at the cemetery is under investigation, the Brooklyn Police report states.
