As the wave of hatred continues to pass over the country, targeting minorities of every race, gender, sexuality and creed, another Jewish cemetery, this time in Philadelphia, has been vandalized, with more than 100 headstones being damaged.
According to the Associated Press, a man visiting the Mount Carmel cemetery called police at 9:40 a.m. Sunday to report that three of his relatives’ headstones had been knocked over and damaged.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia does list Mount Carmel as a Jewish one, the newswire notes.
“The cemetery was inspected and approximately 100 additional headstones were found to be knocked over,” a police spokeswoman said in a statement.
It is believed that the crime took place sometime after dark Saturday. A criminal-mischief-institutional-vandalism investigation will be conducted by the police Northeast Detectives Division, the spokesperson confirmed.
The incident follows similar vandalism in Missouri less than a week ago, when more than 150 headstones were vandalized at the historic Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery.
http://www.theroot.com/muslim-activists-raise-more-than-70-000-to-repair-vand-1792630166
AP notes that the Anti-Defamation League, with support from the Mizel Family Foundation, is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the vandals. A local Fraternal Order of Police lodge is also chipping in $3,000 as a reward.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney assured the public that authorities were doing everything possible to find the vandals “who desecrated this final resting place.”
“My heart breaks for the families who found their loved ones’ headstones toppled,” Kenney said in a statement. “Hate is not permissible in Philadelphia.”
The man who discovered the damage, Aaron Mallin, told WPVI-TV that he hoped the attack was not anti-Semitic.
“I’m hoping it was maybe just some drunk kids,” he told the station. “But the fact that there’s so many, it leads one to think it could have been targeted.”
Read more at Time.