75 headstones pushed off their bases at Jewish cemetery in Omaha

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Temple Israel Cemetery in Omaha, Neb. Photo: Brill Lyle/Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30378231)

Marcy Oster
Published November 10, 2019

(JTA) — Seventy-five headstones were knocked over and some broken at a Jewish cemetery in Omaha, Nebraska.

The vandals caused more than $50,000 in damage to the gravestones at Temple Israel Cemetery, the Omaha World-Herald reported.

The damage was reported by cemetery officials to police on Tuesday. The vandals could have caused the damage any time between Oct. 31 and Nov. 4, according to the report.

There are no suspects, according to Omaha Crime Stoppers, which offered a reward of up to $1,000 for a tip leading to the arrests of the vandals.

The local Anti-Defamation League said in a statement: “As ADL waits to learn more about the nature of this crime, we offer our support to Temple Israel, to law enforcement and to the families who experienced damage to the headstones of their loved ones. This is an inexcusable act in a place where we honor and remember the lives of our community members. Whether or not this was motivated by anti-Semitism, there is no question that it certainly causes deep harm to the Jewish community. We will continue to aid law enforcement in any way we can and support the recovery effort at Temple Israel.”