Despite recent vandalism at some Jewish cemeteries around the country, the ones maintained by Charleston's two Jewish organizations have not been affected, their respective rabbis said Friday.
B'nai Jacob Synagogue, located on Virginia Street, has the B'nai Jacob Cemetery in South Hills and the B'nai Jacob Eternal Home in South Charleston. Both cemeteries were found to be fine and in "excellent" condition after officials from the congregation checked them, Rabbi Victor Urecki said.
"We wanted our members to be aware, in light of recent events at Jewish cemeteries, and bring comfort and relief for anyone out of town with loved ones resting in Charleston," Urecki wrote in a public Facebook post. "We have received numerous calls and requests from neighbors, peoples of all faiths, backgrounds, political affiliations who are concerned and want to stand in solidarity with our people. We are touched, blessed and truly fortunate to live in Charleston and thank everyone for their kindness and friendship."
A few monuments at the South Hills cemetery have toppled, but that is because the cemetery is on a slope, not because of vandalism, Urecki wrote.
Rabbi Jim Cohn, of Temple Israel, on Kanawha Boulevard, said there also has been no damage to that congregation's cemetery in Charleston. In an email, Cohn said both congregations have been in contact with local police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation "to ensure that we are operating in a safe and secure manner."
He declined to say more.
"We never publicly discuss security plans in any detail," he wrote.
Urecki said the two rabbis have been in contact with federal and state authorities to make sure they are prepared, in case something happens.
Vandalism discovered Thursday at a Jewish cemetery in Rochester, New York, was the third such incident in recent weeks. About a dozen headstones were overturned at the Waad Hakolel Cemetery, according to news reports. Some of the stones were defaced. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo asked the State Police to investigate the incident as a potential hate crime.
In Philadelphia, about 100 gravestones were overturned at a Jewish cemetery. Last month, nearly 200 headstones were overturned at a Jewish cemetery in University City, Missouri, near St. Louis. Urecki's mother-in-law and father-in-law are buried in the Missouri cemetery, but their gravestones were not damaged, he said.
So far this year, there have been more than 100 threats to 73 Jewish organizations in 30 states, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The FBI on Friday arrested Juan Thompson, 31, of Missouri, a former journalist, for allegedly making some of the threats in an effort to harass a former girlfriend. Officials said they don't believe Thompson, who allegedly made some of the threats in the woman's name, was behind all of the threats or the vandalism.
Urecki didn't speculate on the reasons behind the recent spike in antisemitic attacks, but he noted that there also have been similar events targeted recently at Muslim organizations.
"My big takeaway is the outpouring of love and support, and kindness from the local community toward Muslims and Jews," Urecki said. "We don't know why such acts of vandalism are perpetrated, but we are seeing a increased show of support by the greater community at large, which is very encouraging."
Reach Lori Kersey at lori.kersey@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1240 or follow @LoriKerseyWV on Twitter.