News outlets have been reporting that a hate-crime police task force is investigating an incident in which five tombstones were toppled at the Washington Cemetery, an historic cemetery in Brooklyn, this Saturday night.
New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind tweeted photos of some of the downed headstones on Saturday night. He said he was alerted to the vandalism by the Boro Park Shomrim organization, a Jewish security patrol.
.@BPShomrim alerted me that stones @ Washington Cemetery are down. I’ve spoken w/ the NYPD who are investigating. I'll be there in the am. pic.twitter.com/j3wHa1dzEp
— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) March 5, 2017
New York City Council member and Chair of Committee on Land Use David G. Greenfield tweeted that over 40 tombstones knocked over at Washington Cemetery, describing it as “one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in world.”
Over 40 tombstones knocked over at Washington Cemetery in Borough Park, Brooklyn. This is one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in world. pic.twitter.com/DuYZDyL5qv
— David G. Greenfield (@NYCGreenfield) March 5, 2017
This is the latest incident amid a series of bomb threats and vandalism targeting Jewish institutions, including cemeteries, schools and community centers.
There have been similar incidents in Jewish cemeteries in Rochester, New York, St. Louis, and Philadelphia. LAte last month, at least 170 headstones were damaged at a Jewish cemetery in St. Louis.
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