Headstones smashed in Christian cemetery near Jerusalem

A cemetery at a Christian monastery near the central Israeli town of Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem, has been vandalised, reported Haaretz, with some 30 headstones found smashed yesterdy.

According to the paper, “this is the second time that the cemetery of the Beit Jamal Monastery was defaced. In 2013, a firebomb was thrown at a door and hateful slogans were scrawled on the monastery walls.”

In addition, “it was also damaged in a hate crime in 2016, when unknown perpetrators entered the prayer house and smashed statues.”

Israeli police said the matter is being investigated and that a forensics team was dispatched to the scene. “We’re using every means at our disposal to investigate and reach those involved,” they said.

Gadi Gvaryahu, executive director of the NGO Tag Meir, which supports victims of hate crimes in Israel, condemned the attack, which he said “joins a string of hate crimes committed in recent days”.

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