(DailyVantage.com) – The “level of hatred” against Jews and the Jewish community in the U.S. and around the world is “at a level not seen in generations.”
This was the statement of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland after vandals broke into a Jewish cemetery in the city and desecrated numerous headstones and graves that they spray-painted with swastikas. The swastika was the infamous symbol of Hitler’s German Nazi government, which was responsible for the Holocaust that saw more than 2 million Jews killed.
The acts of vandalism at the Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery on Ridge Road in Cleveland come as Israel continues its widely criticized offensive against the Hamas terrorist group hiding in Gaza. Israel went on a full offensive against the jihadist organization after Hamas conducted an attack on Israel on October 7, killing more than 1,500 people in cold blood, the great majority of them civilians, including women and children. According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, Israel’s retaliation has left more than 11,000 people dead and has resulted in a humanitarian crisis in the area. U.S. officials are skeptical of Gaza’s reported casualties, however, and say that the numbers are likely overblown.
That anyone had “so much hate” against Jews was “absolutely sickening,” the Jewish Federation of Cleveland said in a statement posted online. The organization also called the vandalism a “cowardly act” against the memory of their elders and loved ones. The swastikas have since been removed with the help of several volunteers.
Police are continuing their investigation of the incident, but no arrests have been made as of press time.
The continued situation in the Middle East has also contributed to a rise in antisemitic incidents around the country, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Preliminary data released by the organization’s Center for Extremism shows that incidents of harassment, vandalism, and assault against Jews from October 7 to October 28 this year were a whopping 388% more than for the same period last year.
However, the same could be said of anti-Muslim and anti-Arab sentiment: the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civic rights group, says that incidents of bias, harassment, and violence against their community have also seen a sharp increase. From October 7 to November 4, the group said that their office has received 1,283 reports of such incidents, compared to an average of 406 complaints for a regular 29-day period in 2022.
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