Jewish cemetery vandalized with MAGA graffiti ahead of Trump's final campaign rally

A Jewish cemetery in Grand Rapids, Michigan was reportedly vandalized with pro-Trump graffiti on Monday, shortly before the incumbent president held a rally in the city.

Photos posted on social media show six headstones in the Ahavas Achim Cemetery spray-painted with letters spelling out TRUMP and his slogan MAGA.

Mr Trump held his last election rally later on Monday at Gerald R.Ford Airport in the same city, which also hosted his last appearance on the 2016 campaign trail.

The Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) office in Michigan denounced the act of vandalism, tweeting on Monday that it was “appalled by the reported desecration of gravestones” at the cemetery.

Cary Fleischer, the city’s regional chair of the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus (MDJC), also condemned the attack on the Jewish community, which he said “spoke volumes” about the choice facing voters in Tuesday’s US elections.

“It is long past time to elect leaders who care about the communities they serve, who will defend the rule of law and stand up to hatred and violent extremism - not stoke its flames," he said. 

The MDJC also noted in a statement that the incident comes a year after antisemitic posters were left in the city’s reform synagogue by an extreme neo-Nazi group.

Referring to Monday’s “heinous act”, the MDJC said it was clearly designed to “send an intimidating message to the president’s opponents, and particularly, Jewish voters”.

Justin Amash, a Michigan representative from the Libertarian Party, who is a vocal critic of Mr Trump, expressed his solidarity with the Jewish community.

In a tweet posted on Monday, he said: “We stand united with our Jewish friends and neighbors against this disgusting act of vandalism, desecration, and hate toward our fellow human beings. Anti-Semitism must find no home in our community.”

Last year, there were 2,107 antisemitic incidents in the US, the highest figure recorded in the country since 1994, according to statistics from the ADL.