Antisemitism is growing quickly in the US...
W-B synagogue defaced with hate symbolismJEN MARCKINI March 30, 2008
http://www.timesleader.com/news/W-B_synagogue_defaced_with_hate_symbolism.htmlWILKES-BARRE – Members of an area synagogue arriving for Sabbath services Saturday were confronted with hateful graffiti on the building’s doors and sign.
Wilkes-Barre police are investigating the vandalism at Congregation Ohav Zedek as a hate crime, Lt. Paul Middleton said.
Congregation member Eugene Roth was walking through an alley when he spotted the swastikas and a Star of David painted on the building. He said he was "outraged."
Roth, along with other worshippers, found three front doors defaced with Nazi symbols in a golden-brown paint, and a six-pointed star in silver paint drawn on the South Franklin Street synagogue.
The word "abschaum," a German word for scum, was spray-painted on the left front door with the swastika.
"Seeing that kind of thing is a combination of outrage, anger and being disconcerted in the whole process," Roth said. "It’s shocking. It is a disgraceful thing."
In the front of the building on the middle door was written, "Jude," which means Jew in German, Roth said. The Star of David and Jude, or Juden, identify this place of worship – between Ross and South streets – as being property of a Jew.
The message was a painful reminder of past events, said Roth, who, like other members of the congregation, lost many relatives in the Holocaust, where over 6 million European Jews were killed under the Nazi regime before and during World War II.
"Most people who are anti-Semitic, or pranksters, would have written ‘Jew,’" said Roth, who also is a lawyer. "The fact that it’s ‘Juden’, I believe, adds a degree of a more intense involvement with the Nazi concept."
The vandalism was reported to city police on Saturday morning, according to Middleton. It was not known exactly when the vandalism occurred, but it was likely to have happened between 8 p.m. Friday and early morning on Saturday.
"I can sympathize for these people," the lieutenant said. "They lived under a terrible regime."
City police will look at previous anti-Jewish vandalism incidents to look for possible matches of suspects, Middleton said.
The swastikas were similar to the flag of 1933 Germany, which indicates the messages were more than just a prank, Middleton said.
Murray Ufberg, of the Jewish Federation of Greater Wilkes-Barre, said the vandalism is definitely a hate crime.
"It’s very hurtful," said Ufberg, chairman of the federation’s community relations council. "It brings us back terrible memories. It causes pain. It causes discomfort, and it is contrary to what our society is aiming to do and trying to achieve. It is just very disarming."
A total of three anti-Jewish hate crimes have been reported to law enforcement in the northeast region in the past five years, according to data from the state’s Uniform Crime Reporting System.
Statewide statistics show crimes targeted against the Jewish religion nearly doubled last year compared to 2006. There were 29 anti-Jewish hate crimes reported in 2007, which increased by 13 incidents reported just the previous year.
Topic: Synagogue defaced with nazi swastika and graffiti (Read 1442 times)