Mike Pence condemns vandalism at Jewish cemetery amid outpouring of support

London [UK]: U.S. Vice President Mike Pence condemned “vile act of vandalism” at a suburban St. Louis Jewish cemetery, where more than 150 headstones were damaged earlier this week.

According to a report in the Guardian, Pence, speaking to small business owners at a business in the St. Louis suburb of Fenton, Missouri, called the incident a “vile act of vandalism.”

Muslim groups have launched a crowdfunding campaign for the cemetery, with a goal of USD 20,000. It has raised nearly USD 75,000.

Pence later toured the cemetery with local officials and Jewish community members, helping to clean it up.

The vice president’s statement came a day after President Donald Trump broke his long silence on the reported uptick in anti-Semitic incidents, denouncing threats against Jewish community centers as “horrible” and “painful,” and saying more needed to be done “to root out hate and prejudice and evil.”(ANI)