VANDALIZED

from page 14

The overturned stones are those
closest to the cemetery's only entrance,
an unlocked metal gate about 10 feet
tall, facing Michigan Avenue. The
graves are easily visible from the street.
Near the gate is a sign with the
name of the cemetery, surrounded by
Stars of David, along with the names,
in English and Hebrew, of the two
Jewish groups the cemetery serves,
Mishkan Israel and Harmoreau
(Mount Moriah) Cemetery
Association.
There are about 750 occupied
gravesites in the cemetery. Stones in
both sections were overturned.
Before this incident, the Anti-
Defamation League had received no
reports of desecration at Jewish ceme-
teries in 1999, according to Don
Cohen, ADL's Michigan director. In
1998, one incident took place at
Hebrew Memorial Park in Clinton
Township. Headstones were toppled
and graffiti and anti-Semitic slogans
were spray-painted, Cohen said.
Since the Westwood Cemetery van-
dalism was not accompanied by graffi-
ti or other evidence, Cohen was
unwilling to brand the event as anti-
Semitic.
"It's disturbing that people would
violate a cemetery, whether by an act
of anti-Semitism or malicious vandal-
ism," Cohen said.
Rabbi Zaklikofsky said the last time
that gravestones were toppled at
Westwood Cemetery was about 20
years ago. The Inkster cemetery does
not have a live-in caretaker or security
guard, and there are no plans to hire
one. Rabbi Zaklikofsky said he visits
the cemetery about twice a week.
The first burial in Westwood
Cemetery took place in July 1915,
according to a survey of tombstones.
Although the cemetery is still in use,
spokesmen for both Mishkan Israel
and Harmoreau said only about two
burials take place in their respective
areas each year.
The gate is locked each year from
shortly after the High Holidays until
Passover, Rabbi Zaklikofsky said, but
remains open the rest of the year. He
was unsure if the damage from this
month's vandalism would be covered
by insurance.
A spokesperson for the Harmoreau
group, which does not maintain a syn-
agogue, said they would reinstall the
stones as soon as possible, most likely
in conjunction with Mishkan Israel.
Westwood Cemetery manages to be
both centrally located and secluded. It
fronts on a heavily traveled section of
Michigan Avenue, just west of Beech

9/24
1999

16 Detroit Jewish News

HARMOREAU CEMETERY ASO.

CONGREGATIONSISHKAN ISRAEL
TE RY

Above: The entrance to Westwood Cemetery, on
Michigan Avenue in Inkster.

Left: The headstone of Max Korchak, who died
in 1939, was damaged in the vandalism.

Vandals
damaged the
picture of
Mollie
Olshansky,
who was
buried in
1942.

Daly. However, the cemetery is very
narrow, forming a small strip of green
in a largely industrial neighborhood. It
reaches back about three blocks to the
banks of the Rouge River.
There is a tire store on one side of
the cemetery and an apartment build-
ing on the other.
An 88-year-old neighbor discovered
the vandalism. "He walks through the
cemetery and keeps an eye out for any
trouble there," Rabbi Zaklikofsky said.
"Also, I heard from people who were
there visiting their relatives' graves for
yom tov."

Anna Mickel
saw the vandalism
on Sept. 8, when
she went to visit
her family plot at
Westwood
Cemetery. Her
husband, father,
mother, sister and
father's aunt all
are buried there.
Although their graves were not
touched, the sight of the overturned
headstones sent a chill down her
spine, Mickel 'said.

"It's most shod
ing," she said. "It
makes you think
scenes in Europe.
You don't expect i
here."
Despite the tim
ing of the vandal-
ism, just before
Rosh HaShana,
Rabbi Zaklikofsky
said he believes "it was probably kids
making trouble. It has been quite a
number of years since we had any prof,
lems. It's usually on Halloween." Fl