University City, MO – Almost six months after a Jewish cemetery near St. Louis was vandalized, it has been rededicated.
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Law enforcement is still working to determine if the tipping of 154 tombstones at the Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery in University City in February was motivated by anti-Semitism. The attack drew national attention and Vice President Mike Pence visited the cemetery along with Gov. Eric Greitens to assess the damage.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the rededication came after months of fundraising, physical labor and a police investigation. Speakers at the event recognized Tarek El-Messidi, a Muslim social justice advocate from Philadelphia, who helped raise $160,000 for restoration efforts at the cemetery within a few weeks of the vandalism.
In addition to that money, the Jewish Federation raised almost $250,000,