State Sen. Vin Gopal (D-Monmouth), whose legislative district includes Freehold Borough and Freehold Township, has offered a $1,500 reward, funded through the Vin
Gopal Civic Association, for any information that leads to the successful arrest and prosecution of the vandals who desecrated a Jewish cemetery in Freehold Township.
Four headstones, including one of a World War II veteran, were found toppled on the
morning of Aug. 26 at the Congregation Agudath Achim cemetery on Business Route 33, adjacent to an entrance road to the Freehold Raceway Mall.
Congregation Agudath Achim, also known as the Freehold Jewish Center, is based in Freehold Borough.
While the incident has not yet been labeled as a hate crime by law enforcement authorities, several instances of vandalism and hate have occurred throughout Monmouth and Ocean counties, according to a press release from Gopal.
In August, Klu Klux Klan fliers were distributed in Red Bank. In Lakewood, a synagogue on Route 9 has been vandalized twice. A cloth banner with an anti-Semitic slur was hung up in July 2017 and a black “666” was spray painted on a Holocaust memorial in March, according to the press release.
Gopal will join the Jewish War Veterans of the United States in offering a reward for the arrest and prosecution of the guilty parties.