Swastikas and antisemitic inscriptions sprayed on tombstones
One of the gravestones in Finland
Gravestones in the Jewish cemetery in the Mina town of Finland were desecrated by anti-Semites this week. The incident is being handled by the municipality, as well as the leadership of the Jewish community in Helsinki with the police and local authorities, including the Interior Ministry.
The Mina is located in the south of the country and near the Baltic Sea, a city about 150 miles east of Helsinki. The anti-Semitic incident occurred during the past night, with tombstones desecrated and swastikas and anti-Semitic graffiti sprayed on the scene.
These are tombs and tombstones from the beginning of the last century. Jewish soldiers who served in the Czar's army before Finland gained independence in 1917, and passed away - were buried in the cemetery. Last night, some of the headstones were vandalized.
A community official told Israel Today that "in Finland as elsewhere, there has been an increase in anti-Semitic phenomena in recent months that attributes the spread of the Corona epidemic to Jews. This is also evident in the networking and distribution of the stickers across Helsinki by the Nordic Resistance Movement (Neo Organization) - Nazi) ".
According to the source: "The feeling is that the event that happened tonight also has to do with the expansion of the phenomenon across the continent, mainly due to increasing incitement on the social networks exploited by the same neo-Nazis. We can only hope that the authorities will act soon and there will be a proper response to such acts."
For the past two years, the state has experienced an unprecedented wave of antisemitism, most often reflected in attacks on the Israeli embassy. The Jewish community is relatively small, with about two thousand people and an active synagogue in Helsinki.
Such cemeteries are found in several cities in Finland: Kotka, Waza, Malina and more. These actually belong to the local municipalities.