‘Vandalism’ at Glasgow cemetery turns out to be routine maintenance

The cemetery is located inside a larger non-Jewish cemetery, and maintenance work is carried by Glasgow City Council but Siegel stressed that  she would expect to be informed of maintenance work. 

Flattened gravestones at Garnethill Jewish Cemetery in Glasgow (Image: X/ BluenWhite)[Missing Credit]

After 24 hours of speculation, the council settled fears on X, responding to one person who shared the video.

It wrote: “This is not vandalism. Older headstones have been laid flat for safety reasons. Some are flat by design. Some have been laid down for repairs and restoration as part of work led by Glasgow Hebrew Burial Society.”

The police confirmed that it was the work of the council, not a vandal.

A spokesperson from the CST told the JC that they had been made aware of the video and after investigating further said: “This activity is part of maintenance work being carried out by the local council.

“We have spoken with local Jewish community representatives, who have received confirmation from the council that the site is undergoing routine maintenance.”

For Seigel, the saga demonstrates the fear within the Jewish community amid the last few years of record-breaking levels of antisemitism.

“We need to be careful not to always assume the worst,” she said, adding: “At the end of the day, we need to live our lives and not be caught up believing that everything is awful.”