Vandals reportedly spray-painted red swastikas on at least 23 tombstones at the Jewish cemetery in the Cleveland suburb of Brooklyn, Ohio, on Sunday.
The acts of vandalism at the Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetary occurred sometime between 12 a.m. Saturday and 10:20 a.m. Sunday, police said, according to News 5 Cleveland.
“It’s really a clear message of hate when you see something like that, especially so targeted to a Jewish cemetery,” said Kelly Fishman, the Regional Director for the anti-Defamation League, the outlet reported.
No arrests related to the incident have been reported thus far, according to ABC News. (RELATED: Los Angeles Police Investigate Possible Hate Crime After Someone Vandalizes Jewish Mural Near Iconic Deli)
A digital billboard welcomes US President Joe Biden to Israel on October 18, 2023 in Tel Aviv, Israel. President Biden will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well with President Isaac Herzog, and with the families of the hostages taken by Hamas. Jordan cancelled a visit with Biden that was supposed to happen after he left Israel. As Israel prepares to invade the Gaza Strip in its campaign to vanquish Hamas, the Palestinian militant group Hamas who launched a deadly attack in southern Israel on October 7th, worries are growing of a wider war with multiple fronts, including at the country’s northern border with Lebanon. Countries have scrambled to evacuate their citizens from Israel, and Israel has begun relocating some communities on its northern border. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
The act of vandalism coincided with a significant increase in hate crimes nationwide, targeting Jewish and Muslim communities, since the Hamas terror attack on Israel in October, ABC News reported.
Preliminary data from the ADL Center on Extremism reveals a significant surge in incidents of harassment, vandalism, and assault, totaling 312 cases recorded from Oct. 7 to Oct. 23, the outlet reported.
This marks a substantial 388% increase compared to the same period last year when the ADL documented 64 incidents. Notably, more than half of the recent incidents (190) are directly linked to the Israel-Hamas war, according to the ADL.
The Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetary and the Jewish Federation of Cleveland quickly rallied approximately 20 volunteers who took the initiative to remove the graffiti from the headstones, News 5 Cleveland reported.
“At no point should anyone ever feel intimidated, feel fear, feel scared to go to school or to work because of their identities,” said Kelly Fishman, according to reporting from ABC News.