Vandals topple dozens of headstones at Missouri Jewish cemetery

St. Louis’ old Jewish cemetery was heavily vandalized over the weekend. 

Vandals pushed down over 100 headstones at the Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri, over the weekend.

Police launched an investigation into the apparently anti-Semitic incident after the damage was discovered on Monday.

However, Lt. Fredrick Lemons said Monday that police are keeping all options of investigation open and are not treating the incident as a hate crime at this time, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Police has surveillance cameras footage and are using it for its investigation.

It is suspected that several perpetrators participated in the vandalism.

The Jewish cemetery dates to 1893.

“Have not seen desecration like this in region. Will work with law enforcement and community to support. Thanks for the solidarity and support,” the Anti Defamation League (ADL) tweeted after the incident.

The incident comes on the same day that 11 Jewish community centers around the country received bomb threats, the fourth such round of threats in a month’s time.

Missouri’s Governor Eric Greitens denounced the vandalism as a “despicable act” in a post on his Facebook page.

“Anyone who would seek to divide us through an act of desecration will find instead that they unite us in shared determination,” he said. “From their pitiful act of ugliness, we can emerge even more powerful in our faith.”

By: World Israel News Staff

anti-SemitismMissouri