Vigil Held for Hebrew Cemetery of Fall River, MA

Hundreds turned out for a vigil Tuesday night at the Hebrew Cemetery of Fall River where 59 gravestones were vandalized with hateful, anti-Semitic messages. The vigil attendees stood shoulder to shoulder, sending a clear message to the vandals who scrawled anti-Semitic graffiti on the headstones and any anti-Semites considering following their footsteps. Hateful phrases on the headstones such as “expel the Jews,” along with other anti-Semitic words and phrases, should be condemned as unacceptable.

The message for the individual(s) who wrote these hateful words are simple, “We will not be expelled, and we will not remain silent,” Jeff Weissman, Jewish War Veterans member and cemetery caretaker, also spoke at the event. Additionally, Junior Vice Commander Stephan Bloch; Department Commander Sanford Gorodetsky; Judge Advocate Howard Lipsey; and Senior Vice Commander Ira Fleisher were in attendance at the vigil, as well as officers of the department of Rhode Island. We are proud of these members of the JWV who attended the vigil, and to all who lend their support in a line of solidarity against anti-Semitic hate.

Volume 73. Number 1. 2019