Jewish Heritage Report
Vol. I, No. 2 / Summer 1997
Vandalism and Theft Hit Jewish Monuments
Vandalism and Theft Hit Jewish Monuments
CEMETERIES IN RUSSIA VANDALIZED
Vandals destroyed 52 headstones at a Jewish cemetery in Smolensk,
Russia, on the day of Russian Orthodox Easter. The desecrated headstones
were turned over and broken and dozens of metal name-plates were ripped
off the stones. According to a Jewish Telegraphic Agency report, Viktor
Vaksman, the head of the Smolensk Jewish community, said that the incident
was a clear case of anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitic incidents have become "sort
of Easter tradition" in Smolensk. Last year, the Jewish community's
office was burglarized on Easter Day, and its door was painted with a swastika
and anti-Semitic slogans. Two years ago, a few dozen headstones were damaged
at the cemetery. Then, the city hall paid to repair the damaged headstones.
This year, they have again promised to perform this service.
ELSEWHERE in Russia, it was discovered in
late April that vandals had desecrated 10 headstones at a Jewish cemetery
in Rybinsk. Each of the desecrated headstones was daubed with a swastika,
a skull and crossbones and the word "Jude" (German for Jew).
It was unclear when the act of vandalism occurred because there are few
visitors to the cemetery in winter, when the graves are covered by snow.
The desecrated graves were discovered after a recent thaw. The Russian
Jewish community called on local authorities and the federal public prosecutor
to investigate the case.
Rybinsk, a city of 250,000, is located northeast of Moscow in the Yaroslavl
region, whose governor voiced his commitment to counter anti-Semitism after
last April's bombing of the Jewish community center in the city of Yaroslavl.
The person responsible for the bombing, which caused no injuries but seriously
damaged the center, was apprehended shortly after the governor took control
of the investigation. The perpetrator was sentenced to three years in prison
earlier this year.
12TH-CENTURY TORAH MISSING FROM
RUSSIA'S LARGEST LIBRARY
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports that a 12th-century Torah
scroll, along with dozens of manuscripts and rare books, has been reported
missing from the Russian State Library. The first inventory of the library's
manuscript and rare book collection in nearly 20 years revealed that more
than 200 items have disappeared during that period, according to the daily
newspaper, Moskovsky Komsomolets. One library employee said the books and
manuscripts must have disappeared years ago and were "sold somewhere
abroad." The employee, who spoke under a condition of anonymity, said
the library -- the nation's largest -- had no money to conduct regular
checks of its collections. The lack of funds had resulted in insufficient
security and safety measures, the employee added. The Russian State Library,
formerly known as the Lenin Library, is where the Schneerson Library has
been stored for more than 70 years. The collection -- consisting of 12,000
volumes of books and manuscripts that had been collected by five generations
of Lubavitcher rebbes -- was confiscated in the early 1920s by Soviet authorities
and transferred to the Lenin Library. Lubavitch officials have been battling
in the Moscow courts since 1990 for the return of the books. It remains
unclear whether any portion of the Schneerson Library was among the missing
items.
CUETA CHEVRA KADISHA SET AFIRE
The World Jewish Congress reports that the pre-burial chapel
at the Jewish cemetery at Cueta, where bodies are cleansed and prepared
for burial, was recently set afire by unknown individuals. Cueta is a Spanish
territorial enclave next to the city of Tetuan, Morocco.
CEMETERY DESECRATED IN BALASSAGYARMAT,
HUNGARY
Hungarian police reported on June 13th that a Jewish cemetery
in the northern town of Balassagyarmat was desecrated ahead of a commemoration
of Holocaust victims scheduled for the next day. Vandals smashed one tombstone
and uprooted several others and painted swastikas and Nazi slogans over
the tombstones and surrounding fence. The Federation of Jewish Communities
expressed "shock" and said the incident was the result of the
authorities' past failure to make full use of the law against "anti-Semites
and racists."
CARPENTRAS CEMETERY DESECRATORS
SENTENCED IN FRANCE
A Jewish Telegraphic Agency report by Lee Yanowitch stated that
a French court sentenced on April 24th four neo-Nazis for the 1990 desecration
of 35 graves at a Jewish cemetery in the southern town of Carpentras. The
court sentenced Olivier Fimbry, 26, and Patrick Laonegro, 29, who were
identified as the ringleaders, to two years in prison, the maximum penalty
under the law. Two other skinheads, Yannick Garnier and Bertrand Nouveau,
both 27, each received 20-month sentences for their roles in exhuming the
body of Felix Germon and impaling it on a beach umbrella. The four also
desecrated 34 other graves during the nights of May 8-9, 1990. They were
arrested last year after they confessed to the desecration of the Carpentras
cemetery. A fifth member of the group was said to have died in a motorcycle
accident.
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Updated: 24-Jul-98