Jewish headstones vandalised
'This was not some random action. It was a planned and deliberate attack on Jewish graves only.'
“Why are we Jews so hated and will the hatred ever end?”, asked child Holocaust survivor and community stalwart Nina Bassat.
“Those questions came into fine focus last week with the desecration of 10 Jewish graves at the Maitland cemetery.”
Police are appealing for information after the headstones at the Hunter region cemetery in NSW were spray-painted with stencilled Nazi swastikas in what is a suspected hate crime.
Established in 1846, the South Maitland cemetery is the earliest dedicated Jewish cemetery in NSW. There was one burial there in 2000, but it ceased operations in 1940.
It is located in the middle of four fields and can only be accessed by travelling down a long, grassy and muddy road.
“This was not some random action,” Bassat told The AJN.
“It was a planned and deliberate attack on Jewish graves only. One can only weep at such wanton, specific and targeted hatred, and hope that the Newcastle Jewish community confronts it with strength and dignity.”
Police said a crime scene was established and a number of items were seized, which will be forensically examined.
Rabbi Yossi and Malki Rodal of the Hunter Chabad told The AJN they are planning to visit the cemetery on Sunday, which Rabbi Rodal said is in desperate need of general upkeep, while Maitland Council has applied a white cleaning substance to the headstones.
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Rabbi Rodal had never experienced any antisemitism in the region, but this incident comes after the synagogue in the same area was found graffitied last month.
“In our area it’s so friendly and beautiful,” Rabbi Rodal said.
“It’s actually brought out the best in the Jewish community, with everyone getting together and rallying around. We’re proud to be Jewish and these people are doing the wrong thing, but it will only strengthen our resolve to add lightness to the darkness.”
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies (JBD) CEO Darren Bark said: “Vandalised Jewish gravestones were occurrences we witnessed in the Nazi era. To see these vile displays on headstones and commemorations of loved ones that have passed is deeply distressing and concerning.
“There is no place in our society for this terrible symbol. It is our collective responsibility to speak up against and call out this hate, wherever it appears. Those that commit such cowardly acts should expect the full force of the law to come down on them.”
Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission Dvir Abramovich said the “hate-filled” attack is an affront to the Jewish community at large.
“This is part of a disturbing surge in antisemitism in our nation, and we can imagine the hurt and revulsion that this evil crime has caused to the families of those buried in the cemetery,” Abramovich said.
“This desecration sends a clear message that there is still much work to do in the fight against neo-Nazism, extremism and prejudice.”
The incident occurred the same week the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) released its annual Report on Antisemitism in Australia, revealing a 40 per cent increase in antisemitism incidents over the last two years.
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