Authorities: Poile Zedek Cemetery destruction not a bias incident

By Cheryl Orson and Seth Mandel
Jan. 18, 2008

Though no motive was given for the desecration of nearly 500 gravestones in Poile Zedek Cemetery in New Brunswick, a written statement provided by Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan and New Brunswick Deputy Police Director Anthony Caputo said the destruction did not appear to be motivated by bias.

Kaplan declined to say what exactly he believes prompted the vandalism or what led detectives to the teens, one 15-year-old, two 16-year-olds and one 17-year-old who were arrested on the night of Jan. 9. Specifically, the written statement reads, "While the investigation is ongoing, the facts as presently known do not indicate that the damage caused was an attempt to intimidate, target or harm the Jewish community...[and] do not indicate that these juveniles were part of or otherwise acted under the direction of an organized gang or hate group."

Four New Brunswick teenagers, all males ages 15 to 17, were arrested on Jan. 9 in connection with the damage discovered on Jan. 6. The arrests came following what was described as "an extensive investigation" undertaken by the New Brunswick Police Department with assistance by the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office and the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General Bias Crime. Due to their ages, the teens' names were not released.

Authorities said three of the teens first struck the cemetery on New Year's Day, toppling 17 gravestones. Three days later, they returned with the fourth friend and "methodically" upended rows of granite gravestones, some weighing more than a ton and one weighing over three tons. Kaplan said it is estimated that it took the teens up to four hours to complete the desecration.

The teens were charged with delinquency, criminal mischief, desecration of venerated objects and conspiracy to commit desecration, with each count carrying up to two years in prison. At press time, the four were being held at the Middlesex County Juvenile Detention Center in North Brunswick following appearances in New Brunswick Family Court.

Congregation Etz Ahaim of Highland Park, led by Rabbi David Bassous, also owns a section of plots at this site which been totally "decimated," with over 90 percent of its gravestones destroyed beyond repair.

Though stating he has "every confidence" in the Prosecutor's Office and the New Brunswick Police Department, he also said he finds it "hard to believe" that only four teenagers were involved in this massive destruction.

"I strongly advocate they continue their investigation with all means at their disposal," Bassous said. As far as he is concerned, "this is only the beginning" of the investigation. "I can't believe teenagers would stoop so low with such methodical destruction. The effort and energy this expended. I believe at least 20 individuals were involved."

Moving forward for Etz Ahaim, which is committed to repairing the damage, will also be very difficult, Bassous said.

"We'll have to raise a lot of funds, hundreds of thousands (of dollars)," he said. "It's going to be a major expense we're not prepared for," though he noted that the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex county is helping to collect donations.

Beyond repairing the physical damage, Bassous said the much more difficult task ahead will be re-instilling moral values.

"There's been a breakdown of values," he said. "Parents, schools need to teach values and ethics." Bassous added that among the things he finds most disturbing about this was the vicious and heartless destruction of even infants' gravestones.

Rabbi Abraham Mykoff of Poile Zedek agreed, stating the destruction has left him with an "eerie, uncomfortable" feeling and while generally finding the area to be accepting of Judaism, "This has put a damper on the Jewish community." Likening the acts to Kristallnacht, he said this has brought up many unpleasant memories for the members of the community.

"They're thinking back to Germany and the Nazis," Mykoff said, adding that some laid to rest here were Holocaust survivors. "It's devastating to them."

Those with loved ones in the cemetery whose gravesites have been affected by these acts are "in shock."

"It's devastating to see this, just a horrible spectacle," said Debbie Wachspress, whose parents' and grandparents' sites were among those destroyed. "This was done over a period of hours or days, and by a group of strong individuals. It's pretty obvious this was a bias crime."

"People are crying, it's a terrible situation, a terrible experience," said Lola Kamp, whose loved ones' sites were also affected. "But I have faith in due process. The New Brunswick Police Department has been very forthcoming, supportive and caring," she added.

Etzion Neuer, director of the New Jersey region of the Anti-Defamation League, praised the police department's work in swiftly catching four culprits in the incident.

But the ADL, he said, does agree with many of those in the affected communities that the desecration of the cemetery was a bias incident, though it is currently not being prosecuted as such.

"When a cemetery desecration of this sort comes up, this impasse arrives very often with us and police departments or prosecutor's offices," Neuer said. "From ADL's perspective, there's not a lot of discussion here on this issue. This is not too different from vandalizing the inside of a synagogue sanctuary -- it's a sacred space, and it's an act of aggression against the Jewish community."

Neuer added that such an incident doesn't necessitate a spray-painted swastika to make the attack personal.

"To us the act itself -- of knocking down the tombstones -- is sufficient enough to make it personal," he said.

If an incident is investigated and prosecuted as a bias crime, the punishments would be harsher, and the incidents would show up on the FBI and state bias crimes list, what Neuer called a "statistical issue." Regardless, he said, the incident will appear on ADL's 2008 list of anti-Semitic incidents.

"Does the extent of it tip the scale to make it more likely that it was a bias incident? I don't know," Neuer said. "But I can tell you that I've been with ADL for eight years, and the amount of devastation in that cemetery is really about as bad as anybody can remember. The thoroughness of the devastation is shocking."

Because of that, he said, it has become an even more emotionally distressing situation for those affected.

"It's painful for victims, it's painful for a community that sees tombstones shattered, that sees hundreds of pieces of devastation at the cemetery for some people to hear that it's not an act of bias," Neuer said.

But Neuer stressed that the community should not think that just because it isn't labeled a bias crime the police department isn't taking the case seriously; they clearly are. Additionally, he said, the lines of communication are clear and open between the community and the New Brunswick and Middlesex County law enforcement professionals -- something that should be recognized.

"Here we have a prosecutor and a police department that have proven to have a very open and warm relationship with the local Jewish community," Neuer said.

Prior to the arrests, an anonymous donor had offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the identification and capture of those responsible. It is unknown if this offer led to the arrests or if it is being claimed by anyone.

Other offers of help have been extended from both Jewish and non-Jewish groups including: representatives of the Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County met with Rabbi Abraham Mykoff of Congregation Poile Zedek and New Brunswick Mayor James Cahill; a restoration fund was created by the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County; and a Boy Scout troop that offered its services to inventory the damage to the effected gravestones.

Looking ahead, authorities also said more patrols have been placed, and additional security measures taken, at the site. While Mykoff said he's hoping insurance will pay for the damage, Bassous said he wasn't sure if Etz Ahaim's insurance could cover the destruction that is estimated to be more than $150,000, according to Rick Kulinski, owner of Kulinski Memorials in Manville.

Bassous said while the congregation first needs to make sure this won't happen again before taking any action, he also vowed never to abandon this hallowed ground.

"We care very much about our dead. We're not going to abandon them," Bassous said. Rather, he said, these depraved acts will serve as a "wake-up call" to further action.

The synagogues urge anyone with information on the attack to contact the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office at (732) 745-3332 or Sgt. Christopher Carroll of the New Brunswick police at (732) 745-5218.