Vandals in Moldova Deface Dozens of Graves in Jewish Cemetery

Chisinau, formerly known as Kishinev, was the site of a 1903 pogrom in which 49 Jews were murdered, 600 were injured, and hundreds of Jewish homes and businesses were completely destroyed.

By Shula Rosen

Dozens of graves in a Jewish cemetery in Chisinau, Moldova, were desecrated with spray paint and swastikas over the weekend. Moldovan authorities are investigating the incident as a hate crime.

The vandalism occurred against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, most recently between Israel and Iran.

Chisinau, formerly known as Kishinev, was the site of a 1903 pogrom in which 49 Jews were murdered, 600 were injured, and hundreds of Jewish homes and businesses were completely destroyed.

The Jewish cemetery in Chisinau was also vandalized in 2020, when 42 gravestones were badly damaged and 30 were daubed with paint.

“The direct conflict between Israel and Iran is fueling global waves of hatred and antisemitism. Unfortunately, Moldova is not immune to this trend,” said Moldova’s Chief Rabbi Pinchas Zaltzman. “When Jewish cemeteries are defaced with Nazi symbols, we are reminded that the hate we thought we buried still walks among us.”

The Moldovan Jewish community, which numbers just 5,000 compared with 200,000 a century ago, has faced other acts of antisemitism.

Most recently, Moldova’s Jewish leaders have lodged complaints about a history textbook that claims Moldova played no role in the Holocaust.

“What we’re seeing — desecration of Jewish graves, distortion of Holocaust history — is not only an attack on Jews, but an assault on the conscience of any civilized society,” Zaltzman said.

Local Jewish organizations have called for increased security around heritage sites and urged the government to adopt stronger educational measures to combat hate. The investigation into the vandalism remains ongoing.