Gravestones were shattered and overturned and swastikas spray-
painted along with the words, "A Jewish child dead, ha, ha .
. . " at the old Westham Jewish cemetery in East London's
Jewish quarter. "The shocking face of antisemitism," wrote
the Independent, printing photos of the desecrated
grave on the front page. The cemetery was been totally silent
for the past 150 years since it was built by the Jewish
community.
The main victim of the vandalism attack was a plot for the
sons of one of the barons from the Rothschild family, a
symbol of Jewish wealth in Europe. A member of the London
Chevra Kadisha assessed the damage, saying the vandals had
shattered children's graves.
According to the Independent, neo-Nazis, skinheads and
Muslims have been behind the recent attacks on Jewish
cemeteries. They are identified according to the way they
draw swastikas. In Westham the swastika was drawn backward,
pointing to young Arabs. Local Jews say it could have been
anyone.
The police have not been trying very hard to find the
culprits. Detectives gathered findings at the cemetery and
made an appeal to the public to step forward with any known
information.
The last incident of cemetery vandalism in England took place
a few days earlier in Manchester. A wall in the East End was
painted with the words, "Yid out," an expression borrowed
from the antisemitism of Continental Europe. The spokesman
for the community's security organization said the attacks on
cemeteries take place often, regardless of the situation in
the Middle East, although incitement in Muslim neighborhoods
continues unabated.
Today the East End's Jewish quarter is occupied by Muslims.
Not a single Jew remains. They were followed by skinheads,
who were followed by Muslim immigrants. The botei
knesses have been converted into mosques. The recent
local elections brought in George Galloway, who supported
Saddam Hussein and Palestinian terror organizations who fires
up the atmosphere by patrolling the streets surrounded by
Arab bodyguards.
Just one day earlier 140 gravestones were shattered and
toppled over in the Jewish cemetery of Budapest. Antisemitic
writings were painted on some of the gravestones.
Israel's ambassador to Hungary, David Edmond, says the local
police hoped to arrest the perpetrators within a day or two.
The Mayor of Budapest announced the city would donate money
to renovate the local cemetery and expressed shock and dismay
over the incident. The heads of the Hungarian Jewish
community condemned the act and expressed hopes the
perpetrators would soon be arrested.
