February 11, 2013

(JTA) – Unidentified individuals spray-painted “death to Jews” and a swastika on a Jewish cemetery wall in western Romania.

The offensive graffiti was written in green paint on the wall of the Jewish cemetery of Timisoara, situated north of the city center. It was bleached shortly after being discovered on Feb. 8.

The news site Timis Online reported police were looking for the perpetrators, who could be charged with incitement to discrimination and face up to three years in prison. 

Timisoara had a Jewish population of approximately 11,000 people during World War II, which – despite deportation plans by the Romanian pro-Nazi authorities – was never sent to death camps, according to the YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. In 2000, the Jewish community of Timisoara numbered just a few dozen elderly people, according to YIVO.

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