Dutch police say they apprehended a man whom they accuse of drawing swastikas on the external wall of the capital’s oldest Jewish cemetery.
The incident happened on Saturday in Zeeburg, the AT5 television station reported. Police would not reveal the suspect’s identity or what they say was his motives for painting the Nazi symbol on the 300-year-old Zeeburg cemetery.
Throughout Europe, perpetrators of vandalism against Jewish cemeteries and monuments are seldom caught.
In 2013, the Zeeburh cemetery was reopened after almost 70 years of neglect, thanks to help from Moroccan and Jewish youths who renovated it.
The opening was made possible by a few dozen Jewish and Moroccan youths who volunteered with the association since 2011 to clean up the area, where approximately 175,000 Jews are buried. Along with other volunteers referred by the City of Amsterdam, the youths painted over graffiti-covered walls, cut overgrown grass and weeds, and helped restore some of the paths that crisscross the site in eastern Amsterdam.
In total, the restoration cost about $150,000, which was raised from Jewish and non-Jewish sources, including the city.