The Star-Ledger

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — Four teenagers have been arrested in connection with the damage done to nearly 500 headstones at a Jewish cemetery in New Brunswick, a rabbi from one of the two synagogues that uses the cemetery said today.

Rabbi David Bassous of Congregation Etz Ahaim in Highland Park said he met with officials from Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan's office today and was told the juveniles, ages 15 to 17, had been arrested for causing the damage at Poile Zedek cemetery.

Four Teens Arrested in Cemetery Vandalism

The Star-Ledger

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — Four teenagers have been arrested in connection with the damage done to nearly 500 headstones at a Jewish cemetery in New Brunswick, a rabbi from one of the two synagogues that uses the cemetery said today.

Rabbi David Bassous of Congregation Etz Ahaim in Highland Park said he met with officials from Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan’s office today and was told the juveniles, ages 15 to 17, had been arrested for causing the damage at Poile Zedek cemetery.

Bassous, however, said he does not know if investigators determined the motive behind the incident, which authorities are treating as a bias crime. The prosecutor’s office is expected to issue a statement later today.

On New Year’s Day, 17 stones were found upended, and on Sunday gravediggers found 499 headstones in ruins. The cemetery, on Joyce Kilmer Avenue, is used by Congregation Etz Ahaim and Congregation Poile Zedek in New Brunswick.

On Wednesday, rabbis from the two synagogues announced that a private donor offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to arrests for the damage.

3 Comments

  • wonderin

    That is crazy!
    but um..how does a rabbi who uses the cemetery give his opinion….?!? you mean like he goes to that cemetary? i had trouble figuring it out