The Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery, a Jewish cemetery in University City, Missouri, had up to 200 of its headstones damaged and toppled over in an act of vandalism late Sunday or early Monday.
The Jewish community of the St. Louis suburb was shaken by the crime, according to The Associated Press. No one has been arrested for the vandalism yet, and investigators are trying to determine whether it was a hate crime.
Republican Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens called the actions “a despicable act of what appears to be anti-Semitic vandalism” in a Facebook post, adding, “we also know that, together, we can meet cowardice with courage.”
Cemetery officials were hoping to notify families affected by Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported.
President Donald Trump said in a speech on Tuesday at the National Museum of African American History and Culture that the “anti-Semitic threats targeting our Jewish community and community centers are horrible and are painful and a very sad reminder of the work that still must be done to root out hate and prejudice and evil,” the WSJ reported.
The remarks came a few days after Trump cut off a Jewish reporter’s question about anti-Semitism, although he denied being anti-Semitic. Trump’s daughter, son-in-law, and three of his grandchildren are Jewish.
Muslim activists Linda Sarsour and Tarek El-Messidi started a crowdfunding campaign to raise $20,000 to repair the damage to the cemetary, according to Forward.com. More than $6,000 has already been raised.
“Through this campaign, we hope to send a united message from the Jewish and Muslim communities that there is no place for this type of hate, desecration, and violence in America,” they wrote, Forward.com reported.
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