A groundskeeper at the Hebrew Rest Cemetery in Orange Monday morning discovered tombstones had been overturned and a ceramic pot broken.
The cemetery is fenced and locked. Orange Detective Captain Robert Enmon said the vandals had to have climbed or crawled over the fence. He said investigators do not know when the damage was done.
He is asking for the public’s help in finding the vandals. If anyone has information or saw someone in the cemetery, they should contact the Orange Police Department Detective Division at 409-883-1095.
The cemetery is on North Eighth Street south of Interstate 10. It was established in 1907 when Orange had a thriving Jewish community. The late historian W.T. Block wrote “Orange developed a small nucleus of Jews even before Beaumont.”
Orange’s mayor during World War II was businessman Abe Sokolski, who is buried at the cemetery. The Orange County Historical Commission is in the process of getting a Texas Historical Marker to honor the early Jewish community
Vandals spray-painted 666 and obscene figures on St. Mary Catholic Church in May. Enmon said the culprit was never found. He said it is difficult to find vandals unless they are recorded on a surveillance camera or there is an eye witness.
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
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