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Hundreds join Philadelphia rally after Jewish cemetery vandalism, threats

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Rev. Ruth Santana-Grace, center, stands with other religious leaders as the Jewish Federation holds a "Stand Against Hate" rally at Independence Hall to protest the recent vandalism of Jewish cemeteries as well as hate crimes, Thursday, March 2, 2017, in Philadelphia. (David Swanson /The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
A visitor looks at damaged headstones at Mount Carmel Cemetery Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017, in Philadelphia. Scores of volunteers are expected to help in an organized effort to clean up and restore the Jewish cemetery where vandals damaged hundreds of headstones. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma)
Gov. Tom Wolf wears a yarmulke after speaking at the Jewish Federation as they hold a "Stand Against Hate" rally at Independence Hall to protest the recent vandalism of Jewish cemeteries as well as hate crimes, Thursday, March 2, 2017. (David Swanson /The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
Northeast Philadelphia Police detectives look over headstones that were vandalized at Mount Carmel Cemetery in Philadelphia on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017. (Michael Bryant/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
Sharona Durry watches as the Jewish Federation holds a "Stand Against Hate" rally at Independence Hall to protest the recent vandalism of Jewish cemeteries as well as hate crimes, Thursday, March 2, 2017, in Philadelphia. (David Swanson /The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
Volunteer John Walsh from northeast Philadelphia rakes debris at Mount Carmel Cemetery Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017, in Philadelphia. Scores of volunteers are helping in an organized effort to clean up and restore the Jewish cemetery where vandals damaged hundreds of headstones.(AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma)
Trump supporter Bob, who declined to give his last name, volunteers his time and prepares the base of a damaged headstone Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017, in Philadelphia. (Jacqueline Larma/AP)
Damaged headstones are seen through a hole in a fence surrounding Mount Carmel Cemetery Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017, in Philadelphia. Scores of volunteers are expected to help in an organized effort to clean up and restore the Jewish cemetery where vandals damaged hundreds of headstones. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma)
Flowers rest on a damaged headstone at Mount Carmel Cemetery Feb. 28, 2017 in Philadelphia. Scores of volunteers are expected to help in an organized effort to clean up and restore the Jewish cemetery where vandals damaged hundreds of headstones. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma)
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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
March 2, 2017 - 12:48 pm
 

PHILADELPHIA — Hundreds of people have turned out for a “Stand Against Hate” rally at Independence Mall in Philadelphia in response to the recent vandalism of a Jewish cemetery and hate crimes around the country.

A Jewish federation says it organized Thursday’s rally to “restore a sense of security and peace to our community.”

Over 100 headstones were discovered damaged over the weekend at Mount Carmel Cemetery. Police haven’t made an arrest or determined a motive. Jewish community centers and schools in at least a dozen states were also targets of bomb threats this past week, the fifth wave since January.

At the rally, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf called the cemetery vandalism the “the desecration of the values we all hold dear” and the bomb scares “threats against each and every one of us and our common humanity.”

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