Jewish cemetery in Brooklyn reportedly vandalized

Vandalism at a Brooklyn Jewish cemetery follows reports by New York police of a significant increase in anti-Semitic incidents in its jurisdiction. 

The New York Police Department is investigating another incident of vandalism at the Jewish Washington Cemetery in Brooklyn.

“Boro Park Shomrim alerted me that stones at Washington Cemetery are down,” New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind wrote on his Twitter account Saturday night, after being notified by Boro Park’s Shomrim (Jewish neighborhood watch group). “I’ve spoken with the New York Police Department (NYPD) who are investigating.”

NYPD officials said on Wednesday that 35 anti-Semitic incidents were reported from the beginning of 2017 through February 26, making it a 94-percent increase from the 18 recorded incidents during the same time period the previous year.

The vandalism in New York follows several similar incidents in Jewish cemeteries across the country, including one in Philadelphia and another in St. Louis, Missouri.

By: Jonathan Benedek, World Israel News