An ancient Jewish cemetery in Sweden was vandalized last week by unknown perpetrators, according to local police.
In the cemetery in the town of Karlskrona, two tombstones were overturned and 15 others were daubed with swastikas.
During the last couple of weeks, synagogues and Jewish cemeteries in England, Germany and Romania have been defaced. “This is part of an unfortunate rash of cemetery desecrations in Europe,” said Elan Steinberg, World Jewish Congress executive director.
The Karlskrona attack, in which the headstones were spray painted with swastikas, appears to be work of neo-Nazi skinheads, Steinberg added.
The police promised a vigorous investigation and prosecution for those responsible.
The cemetery dates back to 1782, about the time the Swedish government wanted to attract “useful” immigrants.
Today, a handful of Jews live in Karlskrona, on the Baltic coast.
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.
