Vandals Desecrate Jewish Cemetery Days Before Yom Kippur

Vandals have desecrated a Jewish cemetery in upstate New York, days before Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year.

Black swastikas and other anti-Semitic graffiti were spray-painted on the gates of a Jewish cemetery in the Town of Warwick, The Times Herald-Record of Middletown reports.

The words "Heil Hitler" and "SS," Nazi letters for the military force in charge of operating concentration camps, were written on the stone walls and pillars at the entrance of the cemetery.

Jon Gottlieb, president of Temple Beth Shalom, said he got a call from Warwick police late Saturday morning about the vandalism.

Directly across the street from the temple's graveyard is St. Joseph's Cemetery, a plot that belongs the Catholic congregation. That cemetery, which has no walls surrounding it, was untouched.

"Obviously, someone came with premeditated intentions," Gottlieb said. "This was very well thought out."

Rabbi Rebecca Shinder told The Times Herald-Record of Middletown that the destruction was "intensely personal."

"It represents hatred and persecution of the Jewish people throughout the centuries. It's a symbol of hatred and intimidation," she said.

The 70-year-old synagogue is located in the Village of Florida and black swastikas were painted on the low stone wall that forms the front boundary of the cemetery. The vandals did not damage any of the headstones located on the grounds.

Police are investigating the incident.