Soviet Jewish sources reported today that the Jewish cemetery in Kovno, the former capital and now the second-largest city in Lithuania, was desecrated Oct. 15 by six youths who destroyed 240 tombstones. The police found and arrested the desecrators, but released them because they were only 16 years old. The Kovno Jewish cemetery dates back to the 15th century. It contains the graves of many famous rabbis, sages, writers and public figures, including Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Spektor (1817-1896), the ranking Talmudist of the last part of the 19th century, and Baal Makhshoves (Isidor Elyashev; 1873-1924), the Yiddish critic.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
