Jewish cemetery in New York state vandalized with anti-Semitic graffiti

Outer wall spray-painted with black swastikas and the words ‘Heil Hitler’ and ‘SS’

By JTA 10 October 2016, 9:23 pm

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Illustrative: A swastika spray-painted at a playground in Lakewood, New Jersey, August 2016. (AP)

ORANGE COUNTY, NY — A Jewish cemetery in New York state’s Orange County was vandalized with anti-Semitic graffiti.

The outer wall of the cemetery in Warwick, a suburban town about 90 minutes north of Manhattan, was covered in black spray-painted swastikas and the words “Heil Hitler” and “SS,” the Times Herald-Record reported Sunday. The vandalism had been discovered by police that morning.

Though the wall is not high, it was not breached and the gravestones were not vandalized, according to the newspaper. A Catholic cemetery across the street owned by the 70-year-old Temple Beth Shalom of the Village of Florida was not vandalized.

“This is not just about the swastikas and Nazi Germany, even though ‘Heil Hitler’ was written on the stones,” Rabbi Rebecca Shinder of Beth Shalom told the newspaper. “It represents hatred and persecution of the Jewish people throughout the centuries. It’s a symbol of hatred and intimidation.”

“I promise you, Kol Nidre will not be the same this year,” she said, referring to Tuesday night’s onset of Yom Kippur.