Many of the headstones at Poile Zedek Cemetery in New Brunswick were leveled during a vandalism spree discovered Jan. 6, in which 499 stones were either knocked over or destroyed. Photos by Debra Rubin
January 11, 2008
Announcing the arrest of four juveniles in a devastating attack on a New Brunswick Jewish cemetery, investigators said the evidence points to an act of vandalism rather than a bias crime.
“The facts as presently known do not indicate that the damage caused was an attempt to intimidate, target, or harm the Jewish community,” said Middlesex County prosecutor Bruce Kaplan and New Brunswick Police director Anthony Caputo in a Jan. 10 prepared release.
“The facts as presently known 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 juveniles, ages 15-17, were arrested in connection with the desecration of Poile Zedek Cemetery, where 499 gravestones were toppled or smashed in two separate incidents between Jan. 1 and Jan. 4.
The arrests of the four males came late on Jan. 9 following an extensive investigation by the New Brunswick Police Department with assistance from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and the bias crimes unit of the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General.
The names of the four are being withheld by authorities because of their age. A decision on what they will be specifically charged with will not be made until the investigation is concluded, according to authorities.
The four — two 16-year-olds, a 15-year-old, and a 17-year-old — were being held Jan. 10 at the Middlesex County Juvenile Detention facility awaiting transportation to Middlesex County Family Court for a preliminary hearing.
The cemetery is operated by the 107-year-old Orthodox Congregation Poile Zedek of New Brunswick. The cemetery is also used by the Sephardi Congregation Etz Ahaim of Highland Park.
Three of the juveniles allegedly entered the property on the evening of Jan. 1, causing damage to approximately 17 headstones in the cemetery on Joyce Kilmer Avenue, in back of a Foodtown supermarket off Livingston Avenue, according to authorities. The same group returned with another juvenile on the evening of Jan. 4 to knock over the additional headstones, police said.
The second incident was reported at 9:35 a.m. Jan. 6 by employees of Crabiel Parkwest Funeral Chapel. The first incident had been discovered Jan. 3.
The desecration leveled row after row of gravestones, some of which dated back to the early 1920s. Some were cracked or broken into pieces, and others were thrown into haphazard piles. About 75 percent of all the gravestones in the cemetery were affected, but the Etz Ahaim section had virtually no marker left untouched, and broken glass was strewn across some headstones.
The investigation was conducted by New Brunswick Police detectives Scott Gould, Daniel Dominquez, and Dave Smith; Sgt. John Rodriguez, chief investigator of the bias crimes unit of the prosecutor’s office; and Alex Adkins, supervising state investigator of the bias crimes unit of the state attorney general’s office.
The swift apprehension of the suspects was applauded in statements by officials and Jewish community leaders.
“We welcome the arrests in this heinous and utterly shocking attack against a Jewish burial ground in New Brunswick,” said Etzion Neuer, NJ regional director of the Anti-Defamation League. “The arrests send an important message to the community that these kinds of attacks are unacceptable. We hope that the alleged perpetrators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and that hate-crime enhancement penalties will be applied if the crimes were motivated by anti-Semitism.”
U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) commended law enforcement for its efficiency in the apprehension of the suspects.
“My heart goes out to the families who have had to endure seeing the violation of the sacred place where their loved ones rest,” said Menendez. “I stand with the New Brunswick Jewish community in the wake of this despicable act and hope for a thorough and rigorous investigation and resolution.”
The American Jewish Committee announced it would contribute $5,000 to help repair damage to the cemetery.
“Our hearts go out to the families, and broader Jewish community, after these depraved acts," said AJC executive director David A. Harris. "The vandalism of more than 400 tombstones is a reminder of the need to be vigilant in the face of such hate."
The AJC’s gift will supplement insurance money and donations collected by the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County, which has established a fund for the cemetery in cooperation with Poile Zedek and Etz Ahaim.