A reward from various donors adding up to $50,000 is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the vandalism of a Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia police announced the reward Tuesday night.
The Mizel Family Foundation, the Anti-Defamation League is offering a $10,000 reward.
An anonymous donor is offering a $10,000 reward.
Councilman Allan Domb is offering a $12,000 reward.
Mayor Jim Kenney’s Office is offering a $15,000 reward.
The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #5 is offering a $3,000 reward for information leading to an arrest “only.”
So many people came out Tuesday to help clean up the cemetery that was vandalized over the weekend, organizers are staggering volunteers in shifts.
(Dozens Of Volunteers Helping To Cleanup Vandalized Jewish Cemetery, courtesy of CBS Philly and YouTube)
They’ve been coming out to the Mt. Carmel Cemetery in the Wissinoming section of Philadelphia, where dozens of headstones were knocked over or heavily damaged over the weekend.
Action News was there on Tuesday afternoon as a group of volunteers began their work.
“It’s important for us to say, when this does happen here, we will respond. We won’t just stand idly by. We will do something about it,” said Rabbi Yoni Spinka of Bala Cynwyd.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia is trying to steer the well-intentioned in the right direction.
“Every day, today, Wednesday, Thursday, hopefully Sunday, we will organize – between noon and four – cleanups every hour, 50 slots an hour,” said Steven Rosenberg, the federation’s CFO.
(Money is being raised to repair and restore more than 100 headstones that were vandalized at a Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia while police hunt for the person who toppled them. Courtesy of Wochit News and YouTube)
Christina Torres saw the story on the news and brought her son to help in any way they could.
“I really feel that, where there is so much hate, we need to show how much love there is and people getting together and uniting is love,” she said. “That’s love.”
Police say the investigation into the destruction is still ongoing. That includes determining whether this is a hate crime targeting the Jewish religion, or if the cemetery was targeted at random.
Three other non-Jewish cemeteries at the intersection of Frankord and Cheltenham were untouched.
“We have increased patrols in the area. We have put some proactive measures in place for extra lighting, some cameras and we are checking the area for any video that might show the offenders leaving the location,” said Capt. Anthony Luca.
The Building Trades Council and the Electrical Workers Union are offering to help repair damage and install security cameras.
GoFundMe pages to cover damages have surpassed the initial goal.
The Jewish Federation wants to make sure restoration efforts are organized and they don’t want to harm the cemetery in the delicate state that it’s in.
“We don’t want anyone to get hurt, we want it to be done right,” said Rosenberg. “This is an unbelievable effort that has to be done and we want it done in an organized fashion.”
The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia opened a mailbox at jewishphilly.org to raise money to help speed up the repairs of the cemetery.
