Jewish cemetery in Hungary vandalized
Vandals paint swastikas, anti-Semitic symbols on two dozen Jewish graves southwest of Budapest

By Associated Press
February 4, 2008

Graves desecrated (archives)
Photo: AP

Vandals desecrated a Jewish cemetery in southern Hungary over the weekend, painting swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans on two dozen graves, a Jewish leader said Monday.

It was the fourth time in the past year that the graveyard in Kaposvar, 190 kilometers (120 miles) southwest of Budapest, had been vandalized, said Laszlo Rona, leader of the city's Jewish community.

"For decades we never had any similar incidents," Rona said, adding that they were planning to release guard dogs at night to protect the cemetery.

A Soviet military cemetery and a Catholic cemetery in the area were also vandalized recently.

Rona said that despite reporting the vandalism to police each time, none of the culprits have been caught.

"It seems that the only way to apprehend them would be to catch them in the act," Rona said.

Two teens admit vandalizing Jewish cemetery

Two teenage boys have admitted vandalizing a Jewish cemetery in southern Hungary, police said Tuesday.

The boys - aged 15 and 16 - also admitted carrying out similar attacks last month on a Holocaust memorial and a store owned by Chinese immigrants, said Gabor Biro, spokesman of the Kaposvar city police force.

The boys painted swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans on two dozen graves, a Jewish leader said Monday.