At least 10 gravestones found knocked over at Beth El Cedar Park Cemetery in Paramus collapsed because of age and not because of an act of vandalism.

The first several headstones were found in the section owned by Cong. Ahavath Torah in Washington Heights by Dr. Binny Hahn of Teaneck when his family went to visit family graves in advance of his daughter’s recent marriage. Hahn said initially he saw one and then noticed a second that had fallen over and thought “This doesn’t make sense,” so went back a second day and saw at least 10.

Hahn contacted the cemetery and the Manhattan congregation. After investigating, a spokesperson for the cemetery said the foundations on the headstones had given way and there was no vandalism. Rabbi Avrohom Hoffman of Ahavath Torah said the section is in the oldest part of the cemetery with some graves dating back almost 100 years. The congregation is a merger of three synagogues and, unfortunately, has lost touch with some of the families of those buried there. For others they have addresses that are likely outdated. “We have some that are in the middle of the Bronx and there are no Jews there anymore,” said Hoffman, who was unsure what the synagogue will do.

“We’ve never had something like this before,” he said.