Four teens who vandalized a New Jersey Jewish cemetery did not have anti-Semitic motives.
The teens who knocked down at least 500 headstones at the Poile Zedek cemetery in New Brunswick did so because of alcohol and boredom, according to an investigation by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
“It became apparent during the investigation that the juveniles did not know, understand or care about the religious symbols on the gates and headstones at Poile Zedek,” said the statement by Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan, according to The Star-Ledger newspaper.
The four vandals, aged 15 to 17, live within walking distance of the cemetery. They spent about four hours overturning the headstones, some of which weighed more than a ton, the statement said.
A lawsuit has been filed against the vandals by someone whose relatives’ graves were disturbed, according to The Star-Ledger.
