"We have no words for this depravity and evil": Jewish cemetery vandalized with 'Kanye was Rite' graffiti and swastikas 

A Jewish cemetery in suburban Chicago, Illinois, saw dozens of headstones vandalized with anti-Jew hatred, with one even praising rapper Kanye West.

On November 14, police were called down to Waukegan's Am Echod Jewish cemetery, where they found 39 tombstones ruined with bright red paint.

Out of them, 16 large headstones had red swastika spray-painted over them, while the other 23 were vandalized with "non-specific" graffiti. One of them even read:

"Kanye was rite (sic)."

Sharing the picture of the graffiti, StopAntisemitism, an American organization working against anti-Jew hatred, took to Twitter to express its disappointment.

"'Kanye is Rite' graffiti found spray painted in red, appearing like blood, on Jewish tombstones at a cemetery in Chicago. We have no words for this depravity and evil."

Kanye West has been in the headlines lately for spreading his anti-Semitic thoughts on social media and interviews, which seemingly influenced some of his fans.

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Kanye West's words have influenced several public stunts

This is not the first time that West's controversial anti-Semitic views have started an uproar. In October 2022, several people took over a busy freeway in Los Angeles and gave out Nazi salutes. They also unfolded a banner that read "Kanye is right about the Jews."

After a football match between the University of Georgia and the University of Florida in Jacksonville the same month, a text reading "Kanye was right about the Jews" flashed across a video board outside the stadium.

As for the recent cemetery vandalism, no arrests have been made so far. Speaking of the incident, the mayor of Waukegan, Ann Taylor, said that she was "deeply disturbed" and "angered" by the defacement of the headstones.

"Hate does not have a home in Waukegan; when such incidents occur, our marginalized neighbors are victimized, and our entire community suffers. I hope our officers promptly locate the perpetrators of this despicable act and hold them accountable, and I offer my full support to those directly impacted by this vandalism."

The governor of Illinois, J.B. Pritzker, extended his support via Twitter in condemnation of this "evil act" and stated that the officials at Illinois State Police are in constant touch with Waukegan's authorities.

In a tweet, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) also called out this act of hate crime.

"We are disgusted by this act of antisemitism. It must be investigated as a hate crime & we’re in touch with synagogue leadership & law enforcement. The desecration of these stones is reprehensible & we all must speak out in the face of this attack."

According to ABC7, The ADL has noted an increase of over 400 percent in anti-Jew incidents in the state since 2016. Of them, the activist group tracked the most anti-semitic occurrences in 2021, ever since they started noting them in the 1970s.