NYPD say damage to Jewish cemetery in New York was not vandalism

With the current wave of anti-Semitism across the country, several Jewish cemeteries have been attacked, with tombstones knocked over and often damaged. However, when five gravestones were found to have been knocked down on Saturday night in the historic Jewish Washington Cemetery near Brooklyn, it turns out no neo-Nazis were involved.

NYPD hate crime task force visited the scene

According to the NYPD hate crime task force, they visited the cemetery on Sunday and inspected the scene. After their inspection, they determined that the cause was both unintentional and environmental and was not the result of a hate crime. The NYPD say that eroded soil, along with high winds and neglect were the more probable causes. Police told Metro that after they met with the manager of the cemetery, they determined there was no vandalism involved and the five tombstones had fallen due to environmental or maintenance factors.

Bomb threats targeting Jewish institutions

The news of the damage to the Jewish Cemetery in Brooklyn came among stories of bomb threats and vandalism against various Jewish institutions all over the country, including community centers, schools, and cemeteries. As reported by Blasting News, a Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia (pictured above) was vandalized last month, with hundreds of gravestones overturned and damaged. Last week around a dozen tombstones at the Waad Hakolel Cemetery in Rochester, New York were toppled, along with a similar incident in St. Louis, where 170 headstones were damaged. According to CNN, some members of the Muslim community in St. Louis are getting involved in fundraising efforts to help pay for the tombstones to be repaired.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo launching a statewide investigation

After the vandalism at the Waad Hakolel Cemetery, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said he is launching a statewide investigation into the incident, along with the general rise in hate crimes targeting Jewish organizations in New York State. It’s not only Jewish institutions that are currently being targeted, however. The Council of American-Islamic Relations reports that since the start of this year, four mosques have been burned. Reportedly, they also documented 139 incidents of vandalism and damage to mosques in 2016.