Teens damage nearly 500 Jewish graves in New Brunswick

Four teenagers were charged with juvenile delinquency on Wednesday for toppling nearly 500 gravestones in a New Brunswick Jewish cemetery.

The youths are being held in the Middlesex County Juvenile Detention Center, awaiting a hearing in county family court.

As the investigation of the crime continues, New Brunswick police suspect that the teens were most likely not motivated by anti-Semitism. "Based on the facts we have at hand, there's nothing to indicate it's a bias crime," Sgt. Richard Rowe told The New York Times on Thursday.

Rowe added, however, that it is possible that further investigation may find signs of bias "based on other information we uncover or if other arrests are made."

The vandalism occurred over two nights at the Poile Zedek Cemetery. On Jan. 1, three of the teens toppled 17 graves. Three days later the group returned with a fourth person and toppled the majority of the cemetery's tombstones.

Several of the gravestones broke upon falling over. Many of them dated back to the 1920s.

The cemetery is shared by a number of congregations in the area. Rabbi Abraham Mykoff of Congregation Poile Zedek in New Brunswick told the Times he was comforted by the fact that the vandalism was done by teens as opposed to an organized hate group.

Mykoff nonetheless wondered about the teenagers' motives for their actions. "There is still a strong question of how they could do such a thing by themselves and what the motivation was if not hatred," he said. "Unfortunately, certain individuals have no sensitivity for humanity."

Cara Singer '09, the newly elected president of the Center for Jewish Life (CJL) student board, said that the events in New Brunswick concerned her. "It is very upsetting to hear about such an act of hatred so close to campus, and is a sad reminder that intolerance and anti-Semitism are still widespread," she said in an email.

Singer stressed the need for campus organizations like the CJL to promote diversity and understanding in the face of such discrimination. "Such events emphasize the importance of promoting understanding of other religions and cultures, which so many groups on campus strive to do."

This is not the first time in recent months that a potential act of anti-Semitism has occurred close to campus. In September, a 100-square-meter swastika was discovered cut into a cornfield in nearby Washington Township.

Similar instances have occurred on campus, as well. In April 2007, a swastika was drawn on a chalkboard in Bloomberg Hall along with a sketch depicting a "Jewish library" being attacked by bombs. Additionally, in December 2004, a swastika was found on a dry-erase board in a hallway of Dod Hall.