New Nation Swastika Sightings

[voiceofreason]

https://denver.cbslocal.com/2019/04/03/denver-police-swastika-synagogue/


Police Make Arrest Near Swastika Painted On Synagogue
April 3, 2019 at 10:06 am

DENVER (CBS4)– Police in Denver are investigating swastika vandalism left on a synagogue. Officers believe they may have arrested a suspect in the case.

The swastika was found on the side of the Church in the City synagogue on Wednesday.

The suspect arrested at the scene has a prior criminal history, according to officers. That person has not been identified.

 

[voiceofreason]

https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2019/04/05/swastikas-lawn-street-san-dimas/


Swastikas Found Burned Into San Dimas Lawn, Nearby Street
April 5, 2019 at 5:47 am

SAN DIMAS (CBSLA) — Swastikas burned into the synthetic lawn of a home and a nearby street in San Dimas are being investigated Friday as a possible hate crime.

A family in the 1400 block of Greenhaven Street reported the unsettling sight Thursday morning after finding what looked like swastikas burned into their synthetic lawn with some sort of corrosive material, possibly acid.

The family is not Jewish and the sheriff’s department believes they were not targeted, but the vandalism is still being investigated as a possible hate crime.

Hours later, about a block away from the home, two more large swastikas were found etched into the asphalt of Valley Center Avenue. The city of San Dimas says it will cost about $5,000 to repave the roadway.

 

[The Bobster]

https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2...te-man-displays-giant-swastika-on-front-yard/

Neighbors On Edge As El Sobrante Man Displays Giant Swastika On Front Yard
By Betty Yu
June 4, 2019 at 11:17 pm

EL SOBRANTE (KPIX 5) — A community in Contra Costa County is on edge after a man displayed a giant cement swastika on his front yard.

The large swastika displayed clearly on Johnson’s front yard (CBS)


The homeowner, Steve Johnson of El Sobrante, said the constructed sign isn’t a swastika, but a Tibetan symbol. Neighbors aren’t buying it–they said Johnson has other displays of swastikas around his home and on his motorcycle.

“You can call it what you want, as far as I’m concerned,” Johnson said when asked what the symbol was. “It’s a Tibetan sign that was invented way before swastikas was invented.”

“It represents me not having to pull weeds out of that part of my yard.”

Vince Poehnelt has lived on the same block since 1967. As a man of German descent, he said Johnson’s display offended him greatly. :cry1:

“I’m very ashamed of it,” Poehnelt said.

Neighbor Maria Gutierrez was concerned about what the symbol could mean for children and families in the area. “Now, it’s not safe,” she said.

Others are worried about their property values dropping as a result of the display.

“I tell them, ‘Hey, I’ve been helping you out.’ Tell them I love them,” Johnson said when asked about what he’d say to the neighbors who were offended. He went on to ask, likely sarcastically, “What is a swastika?”

“I don’t think he’s a hardcore Neo-Nazi. He may be racist,” Poehnelt said.

“I own this house and I’ll put what the hell I want on my front yard and it’s none of you guys’ business, so get the hell off my property!” Johnson told members of the media. :nya:

When asked if he was Tibetan, Johnson said, “I could be.”

 

[voiceofreason]

https://www.wxyz.com/news/police-investigate-neo-nazi-flyers-posted-in-birmingham-royal-oak

Police investigate Neo-Nazi flyers posted in Birmingham, Royal Oak
Updated: 3:34 PM, Jul 22, 2019

(WXYZ) — Police are asking for the public’s help tracking down those who placed hate-filled Neo-Nazi flyers in two Oakland County suburbs.

One of the flyers was attached to the front gate of a Jewish cemetery along 14 Mile Road in Birmingham.

Other flyers were stapled to light posts over the past several weeks and one was found in Royal Oak. Designed to spread hate, they are now the focus of a growing police investigation.

The director of Clover Hill Park Cemetery told 7 Action News by phone that the discovery was reported to detectives in Birmingham right away. On the flyer there was a printed image of a swastika and racial slur aimed at Jewish people. There was also a message denying the Holocaust.

The sinister message comes from an out of state hate group, calling themselves “Atomwaffen Division.” Both state and federal authorities as well as Birmingham and Royal Oak police are working together to track those responsible.

If you have any information about this, call them right away.


https://thejewishnews.com/2019/07/19/neo-nazi-flyers-displayed-in-two-michigan-cities/

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2019/08/14/drunk...jersey-apartment-complex-in-swastikas-police/

Drunk teen vandals covered New Jersey apartment complex in swastikas: police
By Yaron Steinbuch
August 14, 2019 | 9:29am | Updated

Courtesy of Maria Delpesce


Two New Jersey teens have been accused of going on a booze-fueled vandalism spree in which they spray-painted swastikas around an apartment complex in Mount Olive, according to reports.

A 16-year-old boy from Budd Lake and a 16-year-old girl from Dover were arrested Friday on charges of underage possession and consumption of alcohol and criminal mischief, according to NJ.com, which cited a police report.

A car that was vandalized
Courtesy of Maria Delpesce


Someone called 911 on Friday morning to report that people were drinking and spray-painting a building near the condominium complex.

Officer Matthew Koppinger said he saw empty beer cans and a bottle of vodka in a parking lot, and the juveniles walking near a complex known as Hensyn Village.

The suspects vandalized “multiple” buildings, signs, flags and vehicles with spray paint, however, “their alleged crimes were not considered to be bias crimes,” police said.

“Although some of the spray paint depicted swastikas and derogatory words, there is no indication that a specific group or individual was a target,” the release stated.

“The investigation determined that the vandalism did not meet the Attorney General’s guidelines for a bias crime.”

A third person, a 20-year-old woman from Budd Lake, who was found hiding nearby, also appeared drunk and was placed under arrest, according to Patch.

She was charged with underage possession and consumption of alcohol. The two teens were released to their parents with an upcoming meeting with a detective handling juvenile crime.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2019/11/07/swastikas-found-painted-on-turtles-in-washington-state-park/

Swastikas found painted on turtles in Washington state park
By Natalie O'Neill
November 7, 2019 | 4:01pm

Turtles at a park in Washington state were found with swastikas painted on their shells.
Renton Police Department


Turtles at a park in Washington state were found with swastikas painted on their shells — and wildlife officials are struggling to catch the offensive critters so they can be cleaned off, according to a report Thursday.

The Nazi symbol was scrawled in white on the backs of several of the reptiles at Gene Coulon Park in Renton, stunning visitors who spotted them sunning on rocks, according to krio7.com.

“It sits with you uncomfortably,” one park-goer huffed to the local station.

Police received calls about the anti-Semitic snappers and tried with no luck to wrangle them, according to a Renton Police Department Facebook post.

The city is now getting help from federal wildlife officials to catch and clean them off, according to the station, which noted the tagged turtles had been seen at the park’s lake for more than a month.

Lovers of the great outdoors called turtle shells an unlikely canvas for hate.

“It’s very bizarre,” park-goer Aaron Greene said. “What’s going on?”

But whoever painted the symbol isn’t the brightest of bigots.

“It appears [the swastika] may have been painted in the wrong direction,” said Miri Cypers, a rep for the Anti-Defamation League.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2020/01/08/vandals-wanted-for-scrawling-swastikas-on-brooklyn-restaurant/

Vandals wanted for scrawling swastikas on Brooklyn restaurant
By Ben Feuerherd
January 8, 2020 | 2:37am | Updated

Two vandals scrawled swastikas on a restaurant in Brooklyn amid a string of anti-Semitic incidents in the city, police said Wednesday.

The suspects stopped in front of the Acapulco Restaurant & Deli on Manhattan Avenue near Clay Street on Sunday Dec. 22 and drew the hate symbols, cops said.

They also wrote, “f—k this place” and “f—k this city,” a police source said.

The suspects ran off after tagging the building and have not been caught.

The hateful tagging came amid a string of anti-Semitic incidents in the New York City area, including a number of assaults in Brooklyn.

 

[The Bobster]

https://www.timesofisrael.com/swastika-reportedly-drawn-on-head-of-toronto-man-with-alzheimers/

Swastika drawn on head of Toronto man with Alzheimer’s
Staff member at care center says person responsible was arrested, but police say they’re not aware of case

A swastika was drawn on the bald head of a 65-year-old Alzheimer’s patient in Toronto.

The swastika drawn in black marker was discovered this week at the Glendale Care Centre by the man’s nephew, Shane Morrow, Toronto.com reported Wednesday.

A smiley face also was drawn inside a wing of the swastika.
The man, a resident at Glendale, also suffers from Parkinson’s disease and diabetes, according to the report.

Morrow said that a staff member told him that a second swastika also had been drawn on the body of his uncle, who was identified by Toronto.com as Larry. The second swastika reportedly had been drawn on his back and had been washed off.

The staff member said the person who drew the swastikas had been arrested, according to Morrow. But a police spokesman told Toronto.com that no report had been filed for Glendale’s address.

A staff member told Toronto.com that the incident is “a private matter” and that they “cannot divulge any information at this time.”

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2020/01/14/shock...astika-from-mta-flyers-inside-subway-station/

Shocking video shows man making swastika from MTA flyers inside subway station
By Tina Moore
January 14, 2020 | 9:57pm | Updated

A man tore up a bunch of MTA service advisory flyers and used the pieces to create a swastika inside a Manhattan subway station, according to surveillance footage released by police.

The suspect made the anti-Semitic symbol inside the 96th Street station on the Upper West Side in the early hours of the morning of Tuesday Dec. 31, cops said Tuesday.

He can be seen in the video affixing the pieces of the symbol to the side of the elevator.

The man fled to parts unknown, cops said.

Officials released the video and photos of the man hoping someone could identify him. :headbash:

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).

The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, or on Twitter @NYPDTips.

 

[The Bobster]

https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2...wastika-in-northeast-philadelphia-on-mlk-day/

Police Investigating After Car Vandalized With Swastika In Northeast Philadelphia On MLK Day
By CBS3 Staff
January 22, 2020 at 10:18 am

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Philadelphia police are investigating after a vehicle in Northeast Philadelphia was vandalized with a swastika on MLK Day. Police say a woman found the hate symbol on her car around 3 p.m. Monday on the 3400 block of Brookview Road.

The incident remains under investigation.

So far, there have been no arrests.

 

[The Bobster]

https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2...s-in-center-city-vandalized-with-4-swastikas/

Police: American Red Cross Headquarters In Center City Vandalized With 4 Swastikas
By CBS3 Staff
May 17, 2020 at 4:06 pm

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Symbols of hate were plastered on the American Red Cross building in Center City on Sunday morning. Police say they found four swastikas spray-painted on the front pillars of the building on the 2200 block of Chestnut Street on Sunday morning.

The swastikas have since been painted over.

(credit: CBS3)


Police say at least one other swastika was found a block away.

Authorities are actively investigating the incident.

Eyewitness News has reached out to the American Red Cross for a comment.

The incident comes as the Anti-Defamation League reports a record-breaking rise in antisemitism. It says more than 2,100 anti-semitic incidents were reported last year in the U.S. — 919 involved vandalism.

 

[The Bobster]

https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2...-for-spray-painting-swastikas-in-center-city/

Philadelphia Police Release Surveillance Video Of Suspect Wanted For Spray-Painting Swastikas In Center City
May 20, 2020 at 11:00 am

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Philadelphia police have released surveillance footage of a suspect wanted for spray-painting several swastikas in Center City. The anti-Semitic incident took place early Sunday morning.

Police were initially called to the area of 2000 Market Street, shortly before 1:30 a.m., and found two swastikas spray-painted on the building outside of Coventry Deli.

While officers were conducting a survey of the area, they found a swastika on a newsstand on the 1900 block of Market Street and another spray-painted on a building under construction on the 2300 block of Market Street.

The suspect is described as a white or Hispanic male, between 20 to 30 years of age, wearing a black T-shirt with an unknown logo on the back, tan pants and white sneakers.

 

[voiceofreason]

https://www.abc6.com/man-arrested-for-spray-painting-swastikas-at-providence-college/

Man arrested for spray-painting swastikas at Providence College
June 23, 2020 10:40 am

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE): Providence Police have identified the man they say spray-painted swastikas on gravestones at Providence College on Monday night.

According to police, Keveon Gomera, 26, was charged with vandalism and assault with intent to commit a felony.

Police say Gomera spray-painted swastikas, defaced multiple gravestones, then attempted to set a grass area on fire at the Dominican Cemetery on campus. According to a spokesperson for Providence College, the central cross and seven headstones were defaced. Providence College has repaired the damage.

Update: Picture from yesterday after a man was arrested for spray-painting swastikas on gravestones @ABC6 pic.twitter.com/v7oHDLwnMx

— Brooke Taylor (@BTaylorABC6) June 23, 2020

While a college public safety officer tried to question the suspect, Gomera struck one officer in the head and ran away, according to police. The officer was treated for his injuries at the hospital and later released.

The campus was locked down with a shelter in place order once it was confirmed that the suspect may have been hiding on campus, according to Steven Maurano, a spokesperson for Providence College.

The Providence Police Department said over a dozen police officers searched for Gomera, until they found him hiding in shrubs on campus. The shelter in place order was lifted before 11:30 p.m.

Providence College released the following statement:

We loudly and unequivocally condemn this racist, anti-Semitic and anti-Catholic action, and the desecration of the gravestones of our beloved, deceased Dominicans who served Providence College so well and so faithfully for many years. In addition, we condemn this action in support and solidarity with the Jewish members of our community, many of whom enjoyed the friendship of those late Dominican friars. PC has a long and proud history of collaboration with the Jewish community in Rhode Island. Our Jewish-Catholic Theological Exchange is a significant part of campus life, and has promoted interreligious learning, understanding, and friendship between Christians and Jews for decades. Our community embraces love and mutual respect for all people; there is no place for hatred on our campus.

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

2 Little Caesars workers fired after putting swastika on couple’s pizza

An Ohio family who ordered a pizza from Little Caesars on Saturday night was shocked when it opened the box to find the pepperonis fashioned into a swastika.
Two employees from the restaurant on Smith Road in Brook Park near Cleveland admitted their role in the incident and have been fired, according to 19 News, citing a statement from the company’s corporate office.
“We have zero tolerance for racism and discrimination in any form, and these franchise store employees were immediately terminated,” according to the statement. “We’re deeply disappointed that this happened, as this conduct is completely against our values. We have also reached out to the customer to discuss this personally with him.”

Misty Laska's Twitter post


https://twitter.com/LaskaMisty/stat...swastika-couple-pizza/AoeXnSxXeUOFP5DvGslrEP/


Jason Laska stopped and got the “hot and ready” pizza Saturday night on his way home, he told 19 News, but waited until he got home to open the box. He and his wife, Misty, were appalled by what they saw next.
“We were literally silent for a few moments,” Laska told CNN. “Misty asked me if I had ordered it and they had to make it and they gave me that on purpose thinking they were targeting me because they stereotyped me or something.”
They called the restaurant but were unable to reach anyone.
That’s when they snapped a photo of the pie and shared it on social media.
The franchise owner of the location and the corporate office have since reached out to the Laskas and apologized, describing the incident as an insensitive joke among the staff.
“It’s not funny. It’s not funny,” Jason Laska told 19 News. “Especially with everything going on in the world right now.”
The crude hate symbol had been placed on the pizza backward, but its intent was clear, the couple said.
“Things like this are keeping hate alive in this world,” said Jason Laska, who later spoke to CNN. “We all need the exact opposite of that right now.”
Misty Laska agreed: “The point is, there should not be this kind of hate happening today. With the climate we’re in right now, why make a joke like that?”

[Ho Humm, the new wars are started on Twitter, "Misty Laska" the rabid anti-racist joined Twitter, just in time, in May 2020
Her one and only FIRST June 27th Tweet, the topic was the Swastika Pizza, and CNN reached out to her.
It's a PsyOps to keep the Nazi story relevant ]

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

U.S. NEWS 07/26/2020 05:21 pm ET
Minnesota Couple Wears Nazi Face Masks To Walmart After State Mask Mandate

Minnesota Couple Wears Nazi Face Masks To Walmart After State Mask Mandate

Twitter has video https://twitter.com/maxnesterak/status/1287166965807710209
A woman seen wearing the mask insisted that she is “not a Nazi” and that she was making a political statement.
Walmart temporarily banned a couple after the pair wore swastika face masks into a Minnesota store in what they claimed was a political statement in the wake of a statewide mask mandate.

Disturbing video taken Saturday inside the Walmart in Marshall one day after the state’s coronavirus mask rule went into effect showed the man and woman checking out at a register as the woman made obscene hand gestures while wearing the red and black Nazi symbol.

“You cannot be an American and wear that mask. You cannot,” someone behind the camera told her. “We literally had a war about this.”

The unidentified woman is heard telling other shoppers, “I’m not a Nazi,” when confronted about her attire. She instead claimed that she was only wearing the symbol of hate as a political statement.

“If you vote for [Joe] Biden, you’re going to be in Nazi Germany. That’s what it’s going to be like,” she said, referring to the former vice president’s White House run. “Socialism is going to happen here in America.”

Another photo posted to Facebook appeared to show the woman at one point extending her left arm out as if to give a Nazi salute.

Officers with the Marshall Police Department responded to a disturbance call at the store around noon. They issued a notice of trespass to the couple, who were identified only as a man, 59, and a woman, 64. They left without further incident, local station KARE-11 reported.

Shopper Raphaela Mueller, who posted the couple’s photo and video to Facebook, said she was born and raised in Germany. She said seeing the symbol, which is illegal in her home country because of the atrocities associated with it, left her physically unwell.

“It’s been shown that, biologically, trauma passes down through the generations in your DNA,” she told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “My immediate physical reaction was nausea and wanting to cry, so I can’t imagine what that must feel like for other people who lost family members in the Holocaust.”

A Walmart spokesperson called the shoppers’ behavior unacceptable in a statement to HuffPost Sunday and added that the couple will not be allowed to return to Walmart stores for at least one year.

“We strive to provide a safe and comfortable shopping environment for all our customers and will not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment in any aspect of our business,” the statement said.

Walmart has required shoppers to wear masks inside its Minnesota stores since July 20 in an effort to decrease the spread of COVID-19. “It’s unfortunate that some individuals have taken this pandemic as an opportunity to create a distressing situation for customers and associates in our store,” the spokesperson said, referring to the mask rule.

 

[Ensis]

I'll gladly take the nice hot swastika pepperoni pizza--anytime! And as for the brainwashed German, read real history and find out the truth about Adolf Hitler. He was not the criminal like the jew, FDR was. Shame on Walmart also.

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

Walmart man, Sam Walton, engineer and overseer of Japanese detainment camps.


Walton joined J. C. Penney as a management trainee in Des Moines, Iowa,[11] three days after graduating from college.[9] This position paid him $75 a month. Walton spent approximately 18 months with J. C. Penney.[13] He resigned in 1942 in anticipation of being inducted into the military for service in World War II.[9] In the meantime, he worked at a DuPont munitions plant near Tulsa, Oklahoma. Soon afterwards, Walton joined the military in the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps, supervising security at aircraft plants and prisoner of war camps. In this position he served at Fort Douglas in Salt Lake City, Utah. He eventually reached the rank of captain.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2020/09/23/new-york-town-of-swastika-votes-to-keep-its-name/

New York town of Swastika votes to keep its name
By Vincent Barone
September 23, 2020 | 6:48pm

Swatstika, New York sign
AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File


Swastika, New York, is keeping its name.

Officials of the small Adirondack town, located 50 miles from the Canadian border, have voted to retain its controversial name that predates nazism, NPR reported.

The four-member board for the Town of Black Brook, which has authority over the hamlet, voted unanimously to keep the name after five minutes of discussion during their Sept. 14 meeting.

Michael Alcamo, a cyclist from New York City, inspired the proposal after he passed a Swastika town sign during a recent ride this summer.

Alcamo then reached out to county officials to pitch a name change to the hamlet of about 1,500 residents. While the swastika was a common design element dating back centuries, it is now indelibly linked to nazism, a global symbol of white supremacy and hate.

“I think it should be obvious that the town should update its name and should pick a name that is not so offensive to so many Americans and so emblematic of intolerance, hate and tyranny,” Alcamo told NPR.

But several members of the Black Brook board appeared offended by the request and were steadfastly opposed to the idea, the Adirondack Daily Enterprise reported.

“I’m dead-set against changing it,” Councilor Aubin reportedly said at the meeting.

Swastika
Getty Images/EyeEm


Aubin went on to note that the word means “well being” in the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit and “only an intolerant person” would assume the town was named in honor of nazism.

The town name stems from its post office, which was officially called “Swastika” back in 1913, according to the Daily Enterprise.

Town Supervisor Jon Douglass told the outlet that a name change was proposed several times since WWII.

“Once was after World War II,” he said. “[Residents] adamantly opposed, and did not want to change the name. There’s a long history there. For the uneducated that immediately assume it’s connected to Germans and Hitler, it’s not. Swastika means ‘to prosper.’ ”

But Alcamo was disappointed in the board’s decision. He said leaving “Swastika” behind would show respect for those who died during the war and would be seen as a denouncing of hate.

“I didn’t expect a quick, unanimous vote to reject the proposal,” he said.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2020/09/18/cops-probe-swastika-cut-into-front-yard-of-north-carolina-home/

Police investigate swastika cut into front yard of North Carolina home
By Joshua Rhett Miller
September 18, 2020 | 11:55am | Updated

A massive swastika was carved into the front yard of a North Carolina home belonging to a black family, authorities said.

Deputies from the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office found the large swastika, apparently cut into the grass with a lawnmower, Wednesday at a home in Richlands, where Tapresha Cummings, who is black, said her family’s property was targeted by “just pure evil” out of nowhere.

“The people who owned this home (my Nana and Papa) were some of the most loving people in the world,” Cummings wrote on Facebook. “Everyone who knew them loved them. To have someone do something like this breaks my heart … This WILL NOT be tolerated. I don’t why they chose our family home, but you picked the wrong house.”

Cummings, a Richlands native, told the Jacksonville Daily News no one currently lives at the home after her grandparents moved out following property damage from Hurricane Florence in 2018.

“My nana and papa raised me in that home and just to know that someone took the time out of their day to do this, that is hurtful,” Cummings told the newspaper. “Racism has never went away but it is very prevalent right now.”

Onslow County Sheriff Hans Miller said he reached out to the homeowner and his neighbors to assure them that an investigation into the hateful display is underway.

“We are taking this incident very seriously,” Miller said in a statement obtained by The Post. “When we learned of the incident, we sent a deputy out to take a report and dispatched detectives shortly thereafter.”

Detectives are “doing everything possible” to track down whoever is responsible for the swastika, Miller said.

“This kind of behavior is NOT acceptable in our county or our country,” Miller’s statement continued. “We encourage anyone with information to please come forward and let us know.”

Cummings said her family plans to add signs warning trespassers to stay away, as well as to install a security system, she told the Daily News while speaking directly to the culprit who vandalized the yard.

“You wouldn’t want someone coming up to your house and mowing Black Lives Matter into your yard or destroying your property,” Cummings said. “I want them to remember the next they think about doing something to hurt someone else.”

The Onslow County branch of the NAACP claims a witness saw the alleged perpetrator drive a lawnmower from the home of Cummings’ family to a neighbor’s residence.

“The officer allegedly said if they could not identify the face of the assailant they could not do anything,” NAACP officials said.

Cummings, meanwhile, insinuated she noticed similarities between the way the grass on one neighbor’s lawn was cut and the way the swastika was cut into her grandparents’ lawn.

“This is a disgrace and no I will not shut up until something is done,” Cummings wrote in a Facebook post early Friday. ity:

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

Swastika: Police investigate swastika, other vandalism at Jewish cemetery in Cleveland

***
Police investigate swastika, other vandalism at Jewish cemetery in Cleveland

Updated Nov 19, 2020; Posted Nov 19, 2020

By Olivia Mitchell, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland police are investigating vandalism at a Jewish Cemetery on the city’s East Side.
Lansing Avenue Jewish Cemetery manager Brett Cochran said that he discovered the graffiti Monday at the cemetery in the 3900 block of 57th Street in the Broadway-Slavic Village neighborhood. He reported it to Cleveland police Tuesday.
The vandals painted a backward swastika on a utility pole, a star of David inside and the word “Jewish” on a larger planter, according to a police report.
Jewish Federation of Cleveland in Beachwood chairman J. David Heller posted a statement regarding the incident on the Federations website decrying the vandalism.
“This attempt to desecrate a final resting place that has served our community since 1890 is unforgivable and indefensible,” he said. “Federation and its security provider – JFC Security, LLC – are working closely with local law enforcement to bring all responsible parties to justice. Hate has no home in Cleveland, and we will continue to work tirelessly to keep all Jewish Clevelanders safe.”
The Cleveland Police Intelligence Unit is investigating.
The vandalism marks the most recent incident of antisemitism targeting the Cleveland-area Jewish community.
In 2017, vandals carved a swastika into the door frame of a Lorain synagogue. Two years later, Police investigated after someone posted a poster denying the Holocaust on a sign outside the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage in Beachwood.
This year, police made arrests after someone spray-painted swastikas and other graffiti on Jewish businesses in University Heights.