Malmo
– Swedish police posted officers at a Jewish cemetery in Malmo after mourners
said they had been intimidated there by passersby.
The
alleged intimidation occurred on March 10 at Malmo’s Ostra, or eastern, Jewish
cemetery, the online edition of the Expressen daily reported on Saturday. Malmo
police stationed at the cemetery two police officers, who saw two cars
hurriedly leaving the area as they approached it shortly after midnight,
according to the report.
Police
were called to the scene by a 59-year-old man who stayed at the cemetery
overnight and who had felt intimidated by several teenagers whom he saw in the
area, but who hid from sight when they noticed they were being watched.
The
59-year-old man stayed overnight inside a preparation room inside the cemetery
to watch over the body of his deceased brother ahead of the burial — a ritual
known as shmirat hamet, or guarding of the dead. The mourner’s son also was
present.
After
seeing the teenagers watching him during the day, the man guarding the body,
who was not identified, called police when he feared someone was trying to
break into the preparation room, he told the newspaper.
“It sounded like someone was trying to
enter. We got really scared,” he said. “Instead of mourning in peace, we
focused on what was happening outside. They’re trying to scare us and, sadly,
they are succeeding.”
