Police in Ukraine’s Lviv region identified several young people who took erotic photos at a historic Jewish cemetery in Brody, sparking outrage in Ukraine and within the Jewish community worldwide. Authorities said the youths acknowledged their mistake and apologized.
The Jewish cemetery in Brody, one of Ukraine's largest, holds more than 8,000 graves, including those of Jews killed during the Holocaust. The United Jewish Community of Ukraine condemned the incident as a “blatant act of disrespect” to the memory of those buried there, emphasizing that such behavior is unacceptable.
"Disrespect for the deceased and cemeteries is unacceptable, potentially harming national dignity and offending citizens' religious sentiments," Ukrainian authorities said in a statement. The United Jewish Community of Ukraine said that although the photos were reportedly taken in 2020, they only surfaced in the media last Thursday.
The community released a statement stressing that “regardless of when the photos were taken, this constitutes a desecration of the cemetery and shows contempt for those buried there.” They underscored the importance of showing respect toward burial sites.
According to the Center for Polish Jewish Heritage, Brody was once part of Poland before World War II and was home to around 11,000 Jews. After the war, the city’s Jewish population dwindled to about 250.
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