Kahal Ahavas Yisroel Synagogue in Hollywood was vandalized on July 25. It was second time the synagogue was attacked this summer.
According to KCAL, video of the vandalism shows one hooded man smashing the windows at the front of the synagogue while another hooded man recorded it on his phone. Both men fled the scene. Nothing was stolen from the synagogue. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is investigating both instances of vandalism as possible hate crimes.
Osher Netkin, who founded the synagogue, located by the corner of Melrose and Highland Avenues, told The Los Angeles Times that the window that was smashed on July 25 replaced a window that was smashed earlier in the summer. It took four weeks to install the new window, only to broken five days later.
“It’s hard for me to imagine that these two consecutive incidents, so close together with our building, it’s hard to say that it’s not [a hate crime],” synagogue board member Doni Dror told KCAL. He also told the outlet that “there are a number of members that are expressing concern of even showing up at all, because they don’t want to be the victim of another hate crime.”
“It’s hard for me to imagine that these two consecutive incidents, so close together with our building, it’s hard to say that it’s not [a hate crime] … there are a number of members that are expressing concern of even showing up at all, because they don’t want to be the victim of another hate crime.” – Doni Dror
Mariah Landrey, a neighbor of the synagogue, told Fox 11 Los Angeles, “It’s a really safe space and it’s family oriented, so the fact that somebody would vandalize the neighborhood is very scary.”
Netkin told The Times that one family has already left the synagogue as a result of the vandalisms and that the congregants are scared.
Anti-Defamation League Los Angeles Regional Director Jeffrey I. Abrams said in a statement, “We are witnessing an alarming pattern of antisemitic hate crimes across Los Angeles, especially targeting houses of worship … while we are grateful to LAPD for increasing patrols in the area, it is imperative that victims and witnesses of antisemitic incidents and crime report directly to law enforcement and ADL.”
ADL Los Angeles addresses yet another act of vandalism against Kahal Ahavas Yisroel Synagogue in Hollywood. Read more about the incident here: https://t.co/xBneFAe1u7 pic.twitter.com/WyPQCHBqj3
— ADL California (@ADLCalifornia) July 29, 2024
The Simon Wiesenthal Center posted on X, “The targeting of synagogues across the US has become an almost daily occurrence. Will authorities hold these perpetrators accountable for these hate crimes?”
The targeting of synagogues across the US has become an almost daily occurrence. Will authorities hold these perpetrators accountable for these hate crimes?https://t.co/l8hCLUiDNE
— Simon Wiesenthal Center (@simonwiesenthal) July 29, 2024
