Bishop slams ‘senseless antisemitic vandalism’ of Belfast Jewish graves

The vandalism of Jewish graves in Belfast’s City Cemetery has been dubbed “distressing” and “anti-Semitic” by Bishop Noel Treanor of the Diocese of Down and Connor.

The police launched a hate crime investigation into the incident which took place last Thursday. Ten gravestones were damaged.

In 2016, 13 graves in the same plot were damaged in a similar attack.

Bishop Treanor said he was “shocked and disgusted” to hear of the incident and extended his sympathy and support to the Jewish community “who have been affected and deeply hurt by this incident”.

“These senseless acts of vandalism violate the sanctuary of the cemetery and they display a total lack of respect for the dead and the families of the deceased who are left distressed by these incidents,” he said.

“The targeting of these Jewish graves is particularly distressing for the wider Jewish community in Belfast. Such anti-Semitic and discriminatory actions, motivated by prejudice, have no place in a modern tolerant welcoming society.

“As a diocese, we stand firmly alongside our sisters and brothers in the Belfast Jewish Community as we express our revulsion in the face of this destruction and in calling for greater respect for all within society.”

The bishop appealed to everyone entering the City Cemetery, particularly young people, to respect the sanctity of the graveyard.

“Let us afford to these resting places of family relatives and friends the dignity and respect that is theirs by right,” he added.

Michael Black, chairman of Belfast Jewish community, described the attack as “appalling” and hopes that the perpetrators will “be brought to justice”.

“You just wonder what is in the mindset of people who do that sort of thing,” he said.

The attack occurred within St John’s parish in Belfast, with Fr Martin Magill PP leading prayers for those who were “deeply upset by the vandalism” during Mass over the weekend.

The PSNI have appealed for support from the local community “to hold those responsible to account for their actions”.