Cemetery Desecration

In the beginning of January, the Poile Zedek Cemetery in New Brunswick, NJ was vandalized. Hundreds of tombstones were toppled over, many of them suffering permanent damage. The alleged perpetrators of the crime are four teenagers. What has happened where teens can confuse a graveyard with a play yard?

I don't know what could motivate anyone to commit such an act of desecration, but I was moved by the coverage of this story in the media. Fortunately, the story wasn't ignored, and fortunately, work is underway to raise funds to restore the cemetery.

This is an opportunity to raise awareness of important cemetery issues. The Jewish concept of funeral and burial goes beyond the funeral. We erect monuments by the deceased. We visit the graves of our ancestors on a semi-regular basis. We go to the cemetery prior to important events, and before the High Holidays. The cemetery is not forgotten.

Unfortunately, this is not always the case. There are cemeteries where the dead aren't visited. The graves aren't cared for. Everything is left and abandoned. At the Hebrew Free Burial Association, we work hard to ensure that doesn't happen. Our Cemetery Clean-Up Project enlists the help of volunteers to clean and maintain Silver Lake Cemetery. The volunteers walk around the cemetery, showing a commitment to not forget the people buried there. At Mount Richmond Cemetery, HFBA's donors have erected over 15,000 stones for previously unmarked graves.

There are sick people who seek enjoyment by desecrating a cemetery. Besides the financial loss incurred, there is a strong emotional loss as well. It is scary and traumatic. Hopefully, the perpetrators will be brought to justice. And perhaps, we can all learn a valuable lesson about the importance of cemeteries, and we can renew our commitment to ensuring they're treated with proper reverence and respect.