Two Arrested for Vandalism of Jewish Graves in NZ

Police have arrested two young men in relation to the desecration of Jewish graves with anti-Semitic messages at a central Auckland, New Zealand cemetery.

A 19-year-old and 23-year-old will be charged with willful damage and appear at Auckland District Court this week, police said.

Police have not ruled out further arrests.

About 20 gravestones were vandalized at the Symonds Street Cemetery, on the corner of Symonds St. and Karangahape Rd., last week.

Vandals spray painted large graffiti swastikas and scrawled expletive-ridden anti-Semitic messages scrawled on the grave stones.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Goldstein, director of Chabad of New Zealand, which relocated from Christchurch to Auckland after the 2011 earthquake, had harsh words for the vandals and the acts they committed:

“This was a deliberate and senseless criminal act by hate-filled cowards. Racism and the desecration of graves will not be tolerated by the good people of this great country.”

“We, as a nation, need to serve as the voice for the voiceless victims by bringing the perpetrates to justice. We have every confidence in our world class law-enforcement agencies who are capable and committed to hunting down these criminals and bringing them to justice,” he said.

The cemetery, Auckland’s first, has long been the target of vandalism and also attracts people sleeping homeless.

The Jewish council had raised concerns with Auckland Council in the past about security at the site.

Earlier this year the Waitemata Local Board agreed to a $1.6 million funding boost to improve maintenance and security at the cemetery, among other things.

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