Vandalized Jewish Philadelphia Cemetery Restored
Mount Carmel Cemetery Image by Reuters
By Josh Nathan-Kazis October 23, 2017
A Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia that was vandalized in February is now fully repaired, according to a statement from the Jewish Federation of Philadelphia, which led the restoration.
The $145,000 restoration project fixed damage to the nearly 275 tombstones found toppled and broken earlier this year. The funds came out of $288,000 donors gave to fix the vandalized tombstones. The remainder of the donations were spent on general repairs inside the cemetery.
“The massive outpouring of support we’ve received from the city of Philadelphia and from communities across the world has been truly astonishing,” Jewish Federation of Philadelphia president Naomi Adler said in a statment.
The vandalism drew international attention at the time. It came amid a wave of concerns of growing anti-Semitism, inspired in part by a rash of bomb threats to Jewish institutions. An Israeli Jewish teen was later charged with making those threats.
Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney will tour the cemetery on Tuesday.
Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at nathankazis@forward.com or on Twitter, @joshnathankazis.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
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 the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
