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Sex. Celebrity. Politics. With Teeth

American Muslim Activists Are Raising Money to Pay for Repairs to Desecrated Jewish Cemetery

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Over the long weekend, headstones at the Chesed Shel Emeth Society cemetery outside of St. Louis were vandalized—just another part of the quiet wave of anti-Semitism sweeping the nation, emboldened by the Trump administration. Now, two American Muslim activists have started a fundraising campaign to pay for the damage.

The Washington Post reports that the campaign, launched by Linda Sarsour of MPower Change and Tarek El-Messidi of CelebrateMercy, went up Tuesday afternoon and exceeded its fundraising goal of $20,000 within a couple of hours.

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According to the fundraising page, the purpose of the campaign is simple: to show solidarity in the face of rampant, widespread hate, and to “send a united message from the Jewish and Muslim communities that there is no place for this type of hate, desecration and violence in America.”

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Hate crimes have been on the rise since the election, spurred by the anti-Semitic and Islamophobic rhetoric that emanates from the current administrations policies and actions. Speaking to the Post, El-Messidi said “This is really a human issue. But out of this horrible election cycle, something beautiful has come out of it and [Muslims and Jews have] bonded together to support each other and stand up to this hate. Politics can get in the way of our basic humanity; I hope this breaks through all those walls, no pun intended, to help bring us closer together.”

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The exact cost of the damage has not been calculated, but the entirety of the $20,000 raised will go towards its repair. According to the fundraising page, any leftover funds will be used “to assist other vandalized Jewish centers nationwide.”