Subscribe to Print Edition | Fri., January 11, 2008 Shvat 4, 5768 | | Israel Time: 01:05 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Advertising Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Poile Tzedek Rabbi Abraham Mykoff surveying the damage at the cemetery on Tuesday. (The New York Times) Last update - 08:32 11/01/2008 Four teens held in U.S. after 499 Jewish graves vandalized By Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz Correspondent Tags: New Jersey, Jewish cemetery  NEW YORK - Four teens were arrested Thursday in New Jersey as suspects in a massive desecration of a Jewish cemetery. Thursday's arraignment ended a week of fear and rage in the New Brunswick Jewish community after the 499 toppled headstones were discovered last weekend. A Advertisement bout three-quarters of the gravestones in the Poile Zedek Cemetery had been uprooted and tossed into the paths between the rows, in the largest incident of vandalism in a U.S. Jewish cemetery in modern memory. No swastikas or anti-Semitic graffiti were painted on the stones in the incident. Poile Zedek is one of the oldest and best-known Jewish cemeteries in New Jersey, operated by two local synagogues - New Brunswick's Poile Zedek and Highland Park's Etz Ahaim. Many headstones in the cemetery mark graves dating back to the 1920s. "It is still unclear if this is a teenage prank or anti-Semitic vandalism," Congregation Poile Zedek's Rabbi Abraham Mykoff told Haaretz. Etz Ahaim's Rabbi David Bassous concurred that it is still early to reach a conclusion regarding the arrested teens' motives. However, both rabbis agreed that the arrests cleared the atmosphere of panic in both congregations after estimates that such an extensive desecration of a cemetery could only be the result of an organized, planned action by local anti-Semitic elements. New Jersey Anti-Defamation League representative Etzion Neuer and local Jewish community leaders Thursday expressed satisfaction with the fast action of the Middlesex County police department. The leaders praised local police who gave the incident high priority. "We will respect the outcome of the police investigation regarding the youths' motives," Neuer said. In September 2006, 41 headstones were shattered in a Jewish cemetery in Washington state and in July of that year 45 gravestones were uprooted in a Queens Jewish cemetery. Bookmark to del.icio.us   'Body of 2008' A U.K. men's magazine pays homage to Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli. Echoes of Thessaloniki A book on Sarkozy's Greek-Jewish roots goes on sale in Greece.   1.   To Iraq they go to the front 08:19  |  George 11/01/08   2.   WHAT A DISGRACE 11:11  |  VIPER 11/01/08   3.   Act of God? 14:13  |  what if 11/01/08   4.   It`s Coming 14:18  |  David 11/01/08   5.   No morons in the military please 15:06  |  Gideon Reader 11/01/08   6.   Vandalized 15:12  |  yaakov 11/01/08   7.   Punishment? 15:28  |  Neph 11/01/08   8.   Disgraceful act......they should do about 15:48  |  Lynn 11/01/08   9.   Such vandalism seen in EU too, but such a such large scale 15:55  |  Aaron 11/01/08   10.   George - Unacceptable for Military Service 16:09  |  Mark of Lewiston 11/01/08   11.   George - Unacceptable for Military Service 16:11  |  Mark of Lewiston 11/01/08   12.   Of course it was... 16:55  |  Jackie 11/01/08   13.   This happens against Arabs all the time in Israel 17:12  |  The Hammer 11/01/08   14.   building a `telerance museum` on top of muslim graveyard? 17:57  |  Assad-u-LLAH 11/01/08   15.   8. oh you mean like arazbs are treated in zion today? 17:59  |  terrible 11/01/08   16.   Identity of vandals? 21:13  |  Patrick 11/01/08   17.   # 15 why would arabs *be* in zion? 21:34  |  frenz 11/01/08

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