Jewish cemetery receives money from anti-Israel activist’s fundraising campaign

Golden Hill Cemetery in Colorado received money from a fund launched by Palestinian American activist Linda Sarsour.

The Denver burial ground received a “large check” from the fund, Executive Director Neal Price told the Forward, though he declined to specify the amount. The Muslim non-profit Celebrate Mercy, which organized the fund, announced last month on its Facebook page that it had sent Golden Hill a check for $30,000.

The fundraising effort, launched in response to a series of acts of anti-Semitic vandalism targeting Jewish cemeteries around the country, became a source of controversy over the summer when Sarsour was accused of withholding the funds. Following a July report that Golden Hill had not yet received any funds, New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind called Sarsour a “fraud.”

Sarsour responded that she was the target of a campaign by “right wing zionists.”

The fundraising effort has already raised more than $162,000, the Forward reported, and two cemeteries — in St. Louis and Rochester, New York — and a Chicago synagogue have already received a combined $50,000 from the campaign.