NEW YORK (EJP)—Swastikas and other Nazi-related anti-Semitic grafiti have been spray-painted on the wall of a Jewish cemetery in upstate New York.
The outer wall of the at Temple Beth Shalom’s cemetery in the Orange County town was covered in black spray painted swastikas and the words “Heil Hitler” and “SS,” local media reported. The vandalism had been discovered by police on Sunday morning.
The gravestones were not vandalized.
“This is not just about the swastikas and Nazi Germany, even though ‘Heil Hitler’ was written on the stones,” the temple’s rabbi of 11 years, Rebecca Shinder, told the newspaper. “It represents hatred and persecution of the Jewish people throughout the centuries. It’s a symbol of hatred and intimidation.”
The vandalism occurred just days before Tuesday night’s start of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year.