Wave of anti-Semitism has local Jewish community vigilant

TUPPER LAKE — A spate of vandalism at Jewish cemeteries has swept across the country in recent weeks. Tombstones have been found toppled in St. Louis, Philadelphia and Rochester. While the rash of desecration has not yet hit the North Country, residents are fearful that it could happen here. When Janet Chapman heard about the vandalism in St. Louis last month, she immediately thought of the Beth Joseph Synagogue in Tupper Lake and their cemetery on nearby Hosley Drive. "I felt a pang," Chapman said. Chapman, 94, has been involved with the Beth Joseph Synagogue in Tupper Lake for as long as she can remember. She grew up here, and spearheaded the synagogue's restoration efforts. In the early days, the community was a melting pot of Latvians, Lebanese and Syrians and Jews. Anti-Semitism was rare. "I always said they were too busy to make a living to do that stuff," Chapman said of the working class community. "I personally never experienced any anti-Semitism." But now Chapman, who believes she is Tupper Lake's only remaining Jewish resident, said she feels the recently-restored wooden structure, the oldest in the Adirondack Park, may be vulnerable along with the nearby burial ground. "So far everything's been calm. But when they talk about the cemetery, anything is possible," she said. The Tupper Lake Police Department didn't return a phone call asking if they were stepping up security in the wake of the threats, which have also included calls and bomb threats to dozens of Jewish Community Centers across the country. Lake Placid is home to the Lake Placid Synagogue and Lake Placid Synagogue Cemetery on Old Military Turnpike, which is just outside of village limits. The Lake Placid Police Department said they met last week with local leaders to discuss the national situation. "We're meeting with our community members of the Jewish community in Lake Placid," said Chief William Moore. No incidents have been reported, Moore said, but law enforcement authorities will continue to be vigilant. "It's a concern across the country, and a concern of ours," Moore said. "I'm really hopeful that we won't have any problems." Temple Beth Israel in Plattsburgh was not immediately available for comment. The rash of violence comes after the election of President Trump, who has denounced the actions as "horrible" and "painful." While Robert Segall, of Upper Jay, can't definitively say what has sparked the uptick in violence, he isn't surprised. "I saw this coming a year ago," said Segall. Segall, who is Jewish, likened the political situation to Berlin in the 1930s. "There are stages of that, and tipping over tombstones is a symptom," Segall said. "How anger is always focused on Jews has always been a mystery." No cases of anti-Semitic vandalism have been recorded in the New York State Police's Troop B since Jan. 1, said a spokesman. But due to the wave of recent incidents — including swastikas scrawled in athletic fields in upstate New York — Gov. Andrew Cuomo has directed state police to open a hate crimes task force. Cuomo last week directed that task force to launch a probe into cemetery vandalism in Rochester, and traveled to Israel over the weekend. While the governor has been careful not to pin the attacks on last fall's contentious election, he has been forceful in condemning the heated rhetoric in a state that contains the highest concentration of Jewish residents outside of Israel. "My sadness is that now another generation of young people has had to experience this pain," said Cuomo on Sunday, speaking at a memorial ceremony with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. "A pain that for many young people was in the history books is now very much in their daily lives."

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Wave of anti-Semitism has local Jewish community vigilant

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