Anti-Semitic cases up in California
Anti-Semitic incidents jumped 21% in California last year, driven by activity in the Greater Los Angeles area, the Anti-Defamation League reported Monday.
The audit found there were 226 reports of anti-Semitism -- including assaults, vandalism and harassment -- in the state in 2008, up from 186 the previous year. Of the 226 reports, 133 were in the Los Angeles area, an increase from 88 incidents in 2007.
In contrast, hate incidents against Jews fell nationwide, the audit found.
Most of the increases in California were the result of an increase in anti-Jewish vandalism. But Anti-Defamation League Regional Director Amanda Susskind said attacks included physical assaults and Molotov cocktails thrown at the Bernard Milken Jewish Community Campus in West Hills and a private home in the same neighborhood.
“The increase is not attributable to any one factor. The local anti-Semitic incidents from 2008 ran the gamut -- slurs in schools, swastikas on synagogues, a Molotov cocktail thrown at the Bernard Milken Jewish Community Campus, and brutal assaults against Jews,” Susskind said.
Susskind noted that trend is continuing this year. Police currently are investigating a string of graffiti incidents in the Mid-City and West Los Angeles areas in which the word "Jew" or "Jewish TMA" have been scrawled. One of the targets included the gold miner statue at San Vicente Boulevard and McCarthy Vista.
"Statistics consistently show Jews to be far and away the most frequently targeted religious group with 74% of hate crime motivated by religion being perpetrated against Jews in Los Angeles County," Susskind said.
-- Andrew Blankstein
its just graffiti nothing racist i seen this cat up on the west side he writes JEW'ish" TMA
Posted by: hahaah | June 03, 2009 at 04:03 PM