A rabbi in upstate New York is intent on reclaiming his congregation’s cemetery, a “holy space” where dozens of headstones were desecrated recently. 

Rafi Spitzer, rabbi and spiritual leader at Congregation Agudat Achim, a synagogue in Schenectady, “almost burst into” tears after seeing the extent of the damage done to the headstones to the cemetery.  

“The visceral reaction that I had to this attack on our beloved departed, on us, and on the Jewish community was one of grief, anger, and powerlessness,” Spitzer wrote in a letter to the congregation. 

Close to 100 headstones were damaged or completely knocked over at the cemetery, which serves as a shared space for multiple congregations and Jewish communities that have plots in the cemetery, Spitzer told USA TODAY Monday evening. 

It's not immediately clear who committed the acts of vandalism or when, but Rabbi Spitzer says it could have happened “anytime in April.” 

“There are so many stones down, especially in the Beth Israel section of the cemetery, but also spread out all over. This wasn't just a couple of teenagers kicking over a stone or two. A lot of effort went into this desecration. I felt completely violated,” Spitzer wrote. 

An act of ‘senseless hatred'; criminal mischief investigation underway

A member of the congregation first reported the acts of vandalism to the Rotterdam Police Department, which has been investigating the incident since April 22.

Patrick Farry, a Rotterdam Police lieutenant confirmed to USA TODAY Tuesday the department is continuing to investigate the desecration of the cemetery but have not made any arrests.

They were called to the cemetery over a report of "criminal mischief" after a cemetery representative found somewhere between "50-80 headstones had been pushed off of their bases."

Spitzer said the chair of the cemetery committee regularly spends time there, but hadn’t had the opportunity to visit the grounds in a couple weeks.

“I think I would have heard about it from members of my congregation, who regularly visit the cemetery. But I don’t know. I do have somebody who definitely went to the cemetery after this happened, who just went to his wife’s grave. And didn’t notice anything was wrong,” Spitzer said. 

Spitzer said contacting the Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York and the police was the first thing he did. 

“I’ve talked to the police several times. They’ve been incredibly supportive and they're doing their best to investigate and figure out what happened … they're taking it very seriously,” Spitzer said. 

Spitzer wrote the "act of desecration" carried out at the cemetery is rooted in “rising Jew-hatred in New York State and in our region.”

"The weight of historical context weighs heavily on me, as I think it should on all of us. This is a serious matter, and an attack on a Jewish cemetery such as this is more likely given the rising public Jew-hatred on campus," referring to the growing tension and protests on college campuses since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

The damages come as more American Jews report feeling less safe as a Jewish person in the U.S., according to an AJC report released four months after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel and a subsequent wave of rising antisemitism worldwide.

The act of vandalism came to light on Friday between the holiday of Passover and the observance of Yom Hashoah, he wrote.

Community gathering to ‘pray, grieve’

Spitzer doesn’t know what’s going to happen next or how much it will cost to repair the damaged headstones, but he says the community is set to gather Tuesday evening to “grieve and pray together.” 

They will also be trying to lift some of the stones that are facedown and see whose names are on the stones that were damaged, toppled over. 

Spitzer was overcome with emotion the first time he saw the damaged headstones, saying that he felt “powerless” in the face of such violation.

Burial, in the Jewish tradition, is considered “a 'hesed shel emet,' and act of true lovingkindness, and act of grace, a gift that can never be repaid. The desecration, he writes, is an act of senseless hatred. 

“I said that the Amalekites were known for attacking the weakest among us, those who have no power to fight back − and that this attack on the dead and their loved ones represents exactly that kind of evil,” Spitzer said.