The Jewish community in Strand, South Africa, filed a police complaint recently after four gravestones in the local Jewish cemetery were vandalized. Last week, two other Jewish cemeteries in the same district of Western Cape were also the target of vandalizm. Police fear it may be the work of an active neo-Nazi cell.
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Only last December, the Jewish community of Cape Town was shocked when the Jewish cemetery in Wellington, about 45 minutes away from Cape Town, was desecrated. The Jewish community announced that 39 Jewish headstones were desecrated by unknown individuals. Stuart Diamond, the head of the Jewish community in Cape Town, said at the time: "Our community is shocked by this attack. According to the Constitution, South Africa belongs to everyone who lives in it, and they must be respected and accepted by the other."
Jewish Agency Chairman Isaac Herzog called on countries to take strong action to combat the troubling and rising phenomenon.
"I appeal to governments around the world and to law enforcement authorities to not take it lightly, and to take a firm hand against any manifestation of anti-Semitism," he said.
Deputy Chairman of the World Zionist Organization, Yaakov Hagoel, responded on Sunday to the anti-Semitic event, saying: "These incidents, unfortunately, spread like wildfire and have become a global trend, and these are very serious incidents that must be stopped immediately before they kill Jews.
"The South African police must stop these attackers and it is the South African government's responsibility to act accordingly against such incidents. If this is indeed the actions of a neo-Nazi cell, we must put an end to it, the sooner the better," Hagoel said.
