2 American Jews Suspected Of Vandalizing Crucifix In Ukraine
Crucifix in Uman, Ukraine, before vandalism. Image by Getty Images
(JTA) — Two Jewish U.S. citizens have been detained in Ukraine on suspicion that they vandalized a crucifix while inebriated, prosecutors said.
The incident, which occurred last month, is the latest in a series of hostilities in Uman, a pilgrimage site for Jews where friction with the local population often results in cycles of hate crimes.
The Prosecutor’s Office of the Uman Region in central Ukraine on Monday [announced](http://on Monday “announced”) the detention of the men, ages 19 and 20, in connection with an act of vandalism that happened last week. In it, two men who appeared to be dressed like Orthodox Jews broke parts of a crucifix that locals erected near a lake where Jews immerse themselves in a river as part of a religious ritual.
The men were filmed vandalizing the crucifix by a security camera.
The crucifix stands near the grave of the 18th-century founder of the Breslav Hasidic movement. Since it was placed there in 2013, the crucifix has suffered multiple acts of vandalism.
In 2016, a synagogue in Uman was broken into and sprayed with red paint. A pig’s head with a swastika carved into its forehead was left at the scene.
Brawls between locals and pilgrims are common in Uman, where about 30,000 Jews gather each year on [Rosh Hashanah](https://forward.com/schmooze/320610/rosh-hashana/ “Rosh Hashanah”).
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
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.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
