UNIVERSITY CITY, MO – Months after one of their one was desecrated, Jewish cemeteries in the St. Louis are making changes to ensure safety and security.
An outpouring of community support has allowed The Jewish Federation of St. Louis to provide security upgrades at area cemeteries.
All eight campuses in the St. Louis area now have added features to enhance existing protections in place.
Among those sites is Chesed Shel Emeth on Olive Boulevard in University City. The cemetery drew international attention after vandals toppled over or destroyed more than 150 headstones.
The case remains unsolved, and police said there is not enough evidence to classify the incident as a hate crime.
Nearly $250,000 was collected through donors and an endowment.
“We certainly don’t want to see anything like that happening in our community. That is why the Jewish Federation stepped forward and offered to help us with security,” Dan Brodsky said. Brodsky is the Executive Director of the New Mount Sinai Cemetery in Affton.
A $10,000 reward stands for any information leading to a conviction in the case.