Two Teenagers Arrested for Defacing Jewish Cemetery in England
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.
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
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.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
