Jewish Community Acts to End Vandalism of Cemeteries

The growing concern of the Jewish community over the vandalism and desecration of its cemeteries was expressed today at a meeting called by the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC) and attended by representatives of Jewish organizations, the cemetery industry and state and city officials.

The emergency meeting was scheduled after some 700 tombstones were knocked over and defaced at the Mount Richmond Cemetery and United Hebrew Cemetery on Staten Island last weekend This followed the vandalization last week of more than 800 gravestones at Mount Hebron Cemetery in Flushing, Queens.

Noting that the Jewish people have “a deep concern for respect for the dead,” Stanley Lowell, chairman of the JCRC’s Task Force on Cemeteries, said the vandalism must be stopped as “swiftly” as possible. He said the problem requires dealing with security, apprehension of vandals, educating juveniles against vandalism, the possibility of new legislation and the problem of who pays for restoring vandalized monuments, all issues which he said the task force has been dealing with since its creation three months ago.

Lowell said that while anti-Semitism may have been involved in the latest incidents, the JCRC does not consider the vandalism as a Jewish problem but one that involves the “entire New York City community. ” He said the JCRC would try to get the Catholic, Protestant and Greek Orthodox communities to join in dealing with this problem.

Donald Krasnow, president of the Metropolitan Association of Cemeteries, said he was not certain whether the problem was anti-Semitism or one of general vandalism. But he said non-Jewish members of his association told him they believe that the latest incidents were anti-Semitic in nature. This was echoed by Barbara Malone, a member of the association, who said that the Christian cemeteries that had been vandalized recently were ones that were always being vandalized. She said the attacks on Jewish cemeteries were anti-Semitic in nature because tombstones at neighboring Christian cemeteries were untouched.

GREATER POLICE PROTECTION DISCUSSED

Representatives of the Jewish community and of the cemetery association urged greater police attention to the cemetery problem. Inspector. Samuel Marino of the Police Department’s Office of the Chie of Operations, noted that vandalism at cemeteries has been a problem during the more than 20 years he has been a policeman.

He said police patrols have now been ordered to give special attention to the cemeteries, there will be plainclothes policemen checking some of the areas and each precinct’s anti-crime personnel will discuss with cemetery managers how to prevent vandalism. In addition, in the areas where the vandalism has been the greatest, police helicopters using strong lights will conduct nightly patrols over the cemeteries.

Rabbi Saul Eisner, of the Council of Jewish Organizations of Staten Island, praised the efforts of the police and said several vandals have been caught. Most vandals arrested so for range in ages from 7 to 12. But Eisner called for a permanent special police unit to deal exclusively with cemeteries.

There were also calls by public officials and community leaders for greater efforts by the cemeteries themselves to provide for security. Richard Rifkin, deputy counsel to New York State Attorney General Robert Abrams, said that one problem is that if the cemetery owners are required to increase their security they will have to seek increases in their already high rates.

The other major financial problem concerned the cost of repairing vandalized tombstones which now falls on the families. It was suggested that home owners policies might cover this. In addition, there were several suggestions for the state to pay the cost through some type of insurance program.

Many of the participants urged increased penalties for vandals, making the crime a felony rather than a misdemeanor. There were other calls for greater educational programs in the schools against vandalism.

PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT OF VANDALISM

But the personal tragedy was also not forgotten. “The psychological impact is unbelievable on the families involved, Eisner stressed. He said some families feel the destruction of a tombstone even more deeply than the actual death since the monument is their only link with a departed loved one.

Malcolm Hoenlein, the JCRC’s executive director, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he has never seen the Jewish community so upset as it has been by the recent vandalism, He said he has received hundreds of letters expressing anguish over the situation. This is a problem not is not confined to New York but is plaguing other Jewish communities across the nation, Hoenlein stressed. He declared that the JCRC will continue dealing with it Until a solution is found.