A California cemetery’s Holocaust memorial, also used for ritual hand-washing, has been vandalized
By Molly Boigon June 16, 2020
A fountain that serves as a memorial to survivors of the Holocaust was pushed over Sunday night or Monday morning in Santa Rosa, Calif., according to local news reports.
Fountain dedicated to Holocaust survivors vandalized at Santa Rosa cemeteryה >>> https://t.co/QMvdpQjdhS pic.twitter.com/Zm94eNAJnr
— Monitoring Antisemitism Worldwide (@cfcantisemitism) June 16, 2020
The fountain, which also serves as a place for ritual washing and cleansing, is near the Santa Rosa cemetery and was dedicated to the late Lillian Judd and her husband, Emil, who survived concentration camps. Lillian spoke to local children about the Holocaust for decades until her death in 2016 at age 92.
Police are working to find the perpetrators and determine if there was an anti-Semitic motive behind the dismantling of the fountain. Any charges would be felonies.
A maintenance trailer was also damaged on the opposite side of the cemetery.
The fountain stands in front of a mosaic memorial, which was not damaged.
Molly Boigon is an investigative reporter at the Forward. Contact her at boigon@forward.com or follow her on Twitter @MollyBoigon
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