NEW YORK: The vandalism of more than adozen headstones at a Jewish cemetery in Rochester is beinginvestigated by a New York hate crime task force, the third
known case of a Jewish cemetery desecration in the country inthe last two weeks.
Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he orderedthe investigation at Waad Hakolel Cemetery given the wave ofbomb threats that later proved hoaxes targeting Jewish communitycenters and vandalism at Jewish cemeteries in Philadelphia andSt.Louis. U.S.President Donald Trump, a Republican, has condemned the
threats and attacks, although he has at times also questionedwhether some perpetrators might be opponents of his seeking tolink his new presidency with a rise in anti-Semitism.
Trump´s election campaign last year drew support from somewhite nationalists and right-wing groups, despite his disavowalsof them.Besides the toppling of headstones at the Rochestercemetery, images of the deceased embedded on at least half adozen headstones had been scratched away, although it was not
clear how long ago, said Karen Elam, the director of communityrelations at the Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester.
"It´s clear vandalism," she said in a telephone interviewafter touring the cemetery on Thursday afternoon to photographthe damage."Any vandalism of a Jewish cemetery is de factoanti-Semitism.
"Michael Phillips, president of the non-profit organizationthat oversees the cemetery, told the Rochester Democrat &Chronicle newspaper that there was no proof the vandalizationwas a case of anti-Semitism, citing the smaller scale of thedamage in Rochester.
About 100 headstones were knocked over at a Jewish cemeteryin Philadelphia last weekend, and about 170 headstones wereknocked over in a Jewish cemetery in St.
Louis.
Officials at the cemetery in Rochester did not return callsseeking comment.In 2014, vandals toppled more than 40headstones at another Jewish cemetery near Rochester, but localpolice concluded the vandalism was not motivated byanti-Semitism, the Democrat & Chronicle reported.