Jewish cemetery in northern Hungary vandalized

Tombstones were toppled and smashed and human remains were removed from the crypts in Gyongyos.

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(JTA) — Gravestones were vandalized in a Jewish cemetery in northern Hungary.

Up to 20 gravestones, including two crypts, were vandalized over the weekend in Gyongyos, the MTI-Hungarian News Agency Corp. reported Sunday, citing Peter Weisz, the leader of the local Jewish community. Tombstones were toppled and smashed, and human remains were removed from the crypts, according to reports.

The fence around the cemetery also was vandalized, Weisz told the Hungarian media.

On Sunday, one of the city’s deputy mayors visited the site and offered the city’s help to repair the damage, as did the Catholic Church, according to MTI.

The cemetery was similarly damaged in 2013.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary called the attack a “barbaric act.”

The Jewish community of Gyongyos is comprised of about 80 people in a total city population of about 30,000.

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