Two Teenagers Arrested for Defacing Jewish Cemetery in England

By JTA June 30, 2014

Two teenagers have been arrested for vandalizing a Jewish cemetery in Manchester, England.

Gravestones in the Rochdale Road cemetery were painted with swastikas and anti-Semitic graffiti, and about 40 were toppled in last week’s attack. The damage is estimated at more than $170,000, according to the Jewish Chronicle.

The two 13-year-old boys were arrested Friday, on suspicion of committing a racially aggravated public order offense. They were released on bail until July 25, as the investigation continues.

A similar attack occurred earlier this month, according to the Manchester Evening News.

“The vandalism of a gravestone is, in itself, a sickening act, but to violate the memory of those resting in the cemetery still further by daubing racial slurs on the graves is truly repulsive,” Inspector Mike Reid of the Greater Manchester Police told the Manchester Evening News.

On Sunday, more than 100 residents of Manchester, including Muslims, Christians and volunteers from Greater Manchester Police, volunteered to help clean up the cemetery, including removing garbage and debris.

The families of the damaged headstones are responsible for paying for their repair, according to the newspaper.

Extra security patrols have been added in the area, according to police.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO