Headstones vandalized with swastikas, Many have suspected that this horrible vandalism and gruesome disrespect done by white supremacists, neo-nazis and white racist people preoccupied with strong hatred among the Jews and POC.

 

Jewish cemetery in Baltimore vandalized with white supremacist's graffiti 

Some headstones tagged with 'Holodomor,' the 1930s famine in Soviet Ukraine that killed more than 3 million people that white nationalists increasingly try to blame on Jews

By Edward Era Barbacena

 

Amidst rising instances of antisemitism across the globe, a cluster of Jewish headstones at a cemetery was left vandalized over the July 4th weekend. In addition to swastikas spray-painted on top of the gravestones, vandals also defaced a headstone with a tag that appeared to reference Holodomor, the 1930s famine in Soviet Ukraine that killed more than 3 million people. Invoking Holodomor as a way to target Israel and the Jews has become a growing tactic on the far-right, many of whom blame Jews for the famine.

First discovering the vandalism on July 4th while visiting the cemetery with friends, Deborah R. Weiner, a Baltimore Jewish historian said, “It’s something I’ve never seen in all my years of cemetery-going.” Many have suspected that this horrible vandalism and gruesome disrespect done by white supremacists, neo-nazis and white racist people preoccupied with strong hatred among the Jews and POC.

It seems that there’s been a recent trend among antisemites who repeatedly target Jewish cemeteries, defacing them as a display of hate towards the community. A few other Jewish cemeteries that have been vandalized in recent months, include the desecration of Jewish graves in Grand Rapids, Michigan, just prior to the 2020 election and Jewish headstones smashed in Romania and Ukraine earlier this year.

Baltimore-area officials and faith and community leaders gathered Friday at German Hill Road Jewish Cemeteries to denounce acts of antisemitism after more than a dozen gravestones were spray-painted with swastikas this past weekend.

The vandalism was first discovered on Sunday by cemetery visitors, who then notified Steve Venick, the president of the Jewish Cemetery Association of Greater Baltimore. Venick emailed one of the cemetery’s caretakers, Marty Glass, who put off his vacation to clean the headstones early Monday morning.