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Sep 25, 2007 7:28 pm US/Eastern
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Swastikas, Violent Messages Of Hate In Brooklyn
Synagogue, Houses And Cars Covered In Spray Paint
BROOKLYN (CBS) ―
Drawn in black spray paint and photo copied onto dozens of flyers, swastikas and words of hate meant to no doubt hurt and offend those that live in Brooklyn Heights.
Adam Kramer woke up to find one of those flyers stuck to his windshield, but even worse was the swastika spray painted on this white Chevy.
"It made me feel bad," Kramer said. "Being Jewish and I saw it ... it hit home."
Keita Mahamodou's car was also spray painted
"Shock, it's a shock because we shouldn't be seeing things like that any more," Mahamodou said.
Cars on Remsen Street were not the only targets. The front steps of two homes and two synagogues were also littered with offensive graffiti, including the words "Israel Land of Pigs" and "S.S." And the entrance to a home on Columbia Place had both a swastika and the words "Kill All Jews" sprayed on its wall. In total, 18 incidents occurred in the neighborhood on Monday night.
Residents and religious leaders were shocked that someone would commit such an act, especially during a very holy week for Jews. The holiday Sukkot begins tomorrow evening, just a few days after the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur.
"It has a lot of subtext and represents a lot of evil, and fortunately this has to be stopped," Rabbi Arom Rafkin of B'nai Avraham told CBS 2 HD.
Added Rabbi Serge Lippe: "Thank God it is just spray paint. It's hateful spray paint and it's hard to know what is in the mind of a person who is willing to deface any house of worship."
To catch whomever did this police are not only handing out flyers asking for the public's help, they are also dusting for fingerprints on every car or vehicle that had a flyer or graffiti spray painted on it.
Joel Levy of the Anti-Defamation League said these types of anti-Semitic incidents usually occur around this time, during the Jewish holidays. He also believes the president of Iran's visit played a part.
"It may have inspired somebody to go off and do this nasty anti-Semitic act," Levy said.
Investigators with the NYPD's Hate Crime Unit are now scanning surveillance tapes and asking residents if they saw anything suspicious.
Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
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