Three minor girls arrested for vandalizing Muslim graves in Jerusalem
The graves that were damaged are located in a cemetery outside the eastern wall of the Old City.
By DANIEL K. EISENBUDVandalism in price tag attack in village of Far'ata, Nov. 19, 2013(photo credit: RABBIS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS)
Three teenage girls from Jerusalem between the ages of 13 and 16 were arrested early Wednesday morning for defacing multiple Muslim headstones in a cemetery located on the eastern side of the capital’s Old City.Using rocks, the teens attempted to carve the words “price tag” on the stones before being arrested when witnesses notified the police of the incident.“There was no serious damage to the headstones,” a spokesperson said, adding they have since been restored to their prior condition.All three suspects were questioned by police throughout the morning before being arraigned at Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court.A judge subsequently released them to their parents’ custody on the condition that they remain 100 meters away from the cemetery for the next 30 days.Although few details of the case have emerged due to the girls’ ages, this apparently was not the trio’s first time committing nationalistically motivated crimes against Muslim property, said the police.Wednesday’s vandalism is the second price-tag attack in and around the capital this month.On April 1, Jewish nationalists spray-painted hate speech on the walls of a Christian monastery near the Jewish city of Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem, and slashed the tires of three nearby vehicles.The words “America is Nazi Germany,” “Mary is a cow,” and “Price tag” were spray-painted in crude Hebrew letters on the building’s walls.
