New Brunswick, NJ – The desecration of a Jewish cemetery in New Brunswick over the weekend is now being investigated as a bias incident by police and the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.
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After nearly 500 headstones were found toppled and cracked on Sunday, New Brunswick Police spokesman Sgt. Richard Rowe said that police are now considering the vandalism at the Poile Zedek Cemetery a bias incident.
Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan said he reported the demolition of the 499 headstones to the state Attorney General's Office. He added that more patrols and additional security measures have been placed at the cemetery on Joyce Kilmer Avenue, which is used by Congregation Etz Ahaim in Highland Park and Congregation Poile Zedek in New Brunswick.
Rabbi Abraham Mykoff of Poile Zedek said he was pleased police were now looking at the destruction as a bias incident.
"I felt it was only justified as it should be. I feel a little more comfortable," said Mykoff, who said it reminded him of Kristallnacht. [nj.com]
As always, it takes a really big and bad tough guy to beat up on a tombstone. We’re really impressed by their courage.
Hi,
I am a former resident of the Soviet Union and i came to US as a refugee in 1979. I was born in Odessa where the jewish cemetery was vandalized in February of this year. The police there refused to press charges on the ground of antisemitism or a hate crime and only charged 3 hoodlams who were cought with vandalizing graves.
I was very upset and angry when found out that American police was doing the same thing in the investigation of New Brunswick cemetery vandalism. I don’t know who and how changed the situation but i am glad that now it’s a hate crime. I feel that those people who did it are cowards who would not attack live jews and would not go to the media with their hatred but attacked graves and the dead using them as a scape goats. This is not a small matter and should not go away quietly. If i had a power and connections i would let the whole country know that is is an attack on all of us, american jews. I would go to CNN, Fox channel news and talk about antisemitism in America. Some of us don’t beleive that it exists and look another way when incidents like this happens. Jewish community centers have their doors constantly locked for a reason. It’s too bad that i can’t express myself to the media but I hope that someone would do that for me.
Best regards,
Alla Gelman