Swastikas Painted on Headstones at Dutch Jewish Cemetery

AMSTERDAM (JTA) — Swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans were painted on several headstones at a Jewish cemetery in the Netherlands.

The incident in Dordrecht, situated about 40 miles south of Amsterdam, was discovered Tuesday, De Telegraaf daily reported.

The Organization of Jewish Communities in the Netherlands, or NIK, filed a police complaint.

Mayor Wouter Kolff said on Twitter that the incident was “unacceptable” and asked anyone with information about the perpetrators to help bring them to justice.

In 2012, the Council of Europe adopted a nonbinding resolution placing responsibility for the care of Jewish cemeteries on national governments. The resolution was based in part on a report that said Jewish cemeteries are “probably” more vulnerable than other cemeteries.

In addition to frequent vandalism at Jewish cemeteries, including for anti-Semitic reasons, the report also noted instances of cemeteries in Eastern Europe that have been turned into “residential areas, public gardens, leisure parks, army grounds and storage sites; some have been turned into lakes.”