124 headstones toppled at Philadelphia cemetery

Vandals did not leave any graffiti at historic Jewish graveyard

By JTA 31 July 2015, 8:30 pm

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Toppled gravestones at Philadelphia Jewish cemetery, July 31, 2015 (NBC screenshot)

A historic Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia was vandalized, with 124 of its headstones knocked over.

The caretaker of Adath Jeshurun Cemetery discovered the toppled tombstones Thursday morning, NBC Philadelphia reported.

Johnny Gibson, who has worked at the 160-year-old cemetery for 44 years, said the vandals did not leave any markings or graffiti.

There are only a few new burials annually at the cemetery, which is in the northeastern neighborhood of Frankford and has not been vandalized in decades, according to Gibson.

“I don’t know who would do it,” he told NBC Philadelphia. “Were the people on drugs? Were they drunk? I don’t know. But you wouldn’t be in your right mind, I don’t think, to do something like this.”