Anonymous reward offered for prosecution of whoever did this
TOWN OF WARWICK – The Jewish Federation of Greater Orange County has “strongly” condemned the desecration of a Jewish cemetery that took place on October 9 at the Temple Beth Shalom cemetery in the Town of Warwick.
“We support Temple Beth Shalom and the local authorities to label this a hate crime and to apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators to the full extent of the law,” said Dr. Leslie Green, president of the Jewish Federation.
She said there is a $10,000 reward from a person who prefers to remain anonymous for information leading to the conviction of those who committed the crime.
Dr. Green said the spray-painting of the swastika “sends a message of hate which reverberates throughout our community,” and she said such anti-Semitic incidents are meant to intimidate and instill fear.
”Unfortunately, this is usually the work of people who are uneducated or possibly uneducated, don’t understand how painful acts like these are to people upon whom they are perpetrated,” Green said. “I hope that the police catch them. Sometimes they are young people who just don’t understand what the Nazi insignias and swastikas are and maybe don’t understand the history behind it.”
Dr. Green is the daughter of parents who were both in concentration camps when they were teenagers.
There will be a prayer and solidarity service at Temple Beth Shalom Cemetery
at 108-152 Spanktown Road in Florida, NY beginning at 11:30 a.m.