As many of 200 headstones at one of the St. Louis area’s oldest Jewish cemeteries were toppled over the weekend.

Jewish Cemetery Vandalized in St. Louis

from Chabad.org:

As University City, Missouri, police investigated the toppling of as many of 200 headstones at one of the area’s oldest Jewish cemeteries, Jewish residents expressed outrage, sadness and unity, and asked how they could help repair the damage.

“It’s hard to even express how terrible it was,” Anita Feigenbaum, executive director of the Chesed Shel Emeth cemetery after surveying the vandalism done to an older part of the cemetery, which dates to 1893, according to its website.

Despite the horror of the desecration, Rabbi Yosef Landa, who has directed Chabad of Greater St. Louis since 1981, and provides halachic guidance to the cemetery, is quick to point out that it is not representative of the city or its inhabitants.

“This was done by a single individual or a small group of individuals, and we do not even know for sure what their motives were,” says the rabbi. “On the other hand, we have seen a broad show of support and unity from all across the Jewish community and beyond. This is the real St. Louis, and the real America.”

The cemetery contains the resting places of some of some of the city’s most revered leaders, including chief rabbis Zecharia Yosef Rosenfeld (d. 1915) and Chaim Fischel Epstein (d. 1942).

The incident was discovered on the same day that 11 Jewish community centers around the country received bomb threats.

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens tweeted Monday night that he was “disgusted to hear about the senseless act of desecration at the cemetery in University City. We must fight acts of intolerance and hate.”

The rabbi notes that the first point of action will be to repair the damage, an effort many residents have expressed their willingness to contribute to. “What is important here,” he says, “is that we are coming together for constructive and positive purposes.”

6 Comments

  • Andrea Schonberger

    Right now all I can think of is President Trump telling reporter Jake Turx to keep shut and sit down when he asked him how he was going to deal with rising anti-Semitism. Is this the answer? I wonder.

    • Milhouse

      You can wonder all you like, but you have absolutely no basis for speculating. You don’t even know whether this was antisemitic; it may be just a normal case of cemetery vandalism, such as happens all the time, and therefore occasionally the cemetery chosen happens to be Jewish. But even if it was an antisemitic incident, you have no reason to suppose the vandals were pro-Trump rather than anti-. The vast majority of antisemites in the US are Democrats, after all.

    • Gmieir

      A very positive statement from
      Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens tweeted Monday night that he was “disgusted to hear about the senseless act of desecration at the cemetery in University City. We must fight acts of intolerance and hate.”

  • moishe pupik

    Trump took it as a personal insult that someone suggest that he is a anti semite.And it is true that he is not. he did a lot for Israel and for other obviuos reasons. This is probably the work of some minor loony group.

  • Andrea Schonberger

    Dear #2, In your statement “The vast majority of antisemites in the US are Democrats” what is this based on? The anti-Semites I’ve come across never stated their party membership and it never occurred to me to ask but I have met liberal and conservative anti-Semites. I’m a socialist so it’s not like I defend Democrats just because. You are correct that it could have been a case of just plain vandalism but I never stated that the vandals were pro-Trump but it does make me wonder that President Trump hangs with Steve Bannon–as far as I’m concerned he’s Josef Goebbels reincarnated.

    • Milhouse

      I’m no fan of Bannon’s myself, but your view is not just ridiculous but disgusting. How dare you make such an accusation against a person, on no basis whatsoever? There is literally not a single shred of evidence that he has ever had an antisemitic thought; the entire accusation is one big blood libel, and I use that term advisedly. In fact the comparison to Goebbels is itself a lie worthy of that despicable person.

      And yes, the vast majority of antisemites in the US are on the left. The left is the natural home of antisemitism. Antisemites on the right take pains to conceal their views, because they are not welcome; on the left they wear their views proudly and it doesn’t hurt their standing at all. You will never see Richard Spencer or Taki invited to the White House, where Al Sharpton, Jeremiah Wright, James Zogby, and so many other antisemites were frequent visitors. How many antisemites in recent Congresses can you think of; and how many of them were Democrats? McKinney, Moran, Findley, who else?

      For more see here; http://thefederalist.com/2016/12/22/yes-lefts-anti-semitism-pronounced-alt-rights/