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Vandalism at Northridge temple investigated as possibly anti-Semitic hate crime

  • September 20, 2019

By ERIC LICAS | elicas@scng.com | Orange County Register

PUBLISHED: September 19, 2019 at 10:20 pm

Police were investigating a message scrawled on the property of a Jewish temple in Northridge as a possibly hate-motivated case of vandalism, authorities said Thursday, Sept. 19.

The incident was reported Wednesday morning at Temple Ahavat Shalom, 18200 Rinaldi Pl., and may have happened the previous evening, Los Angeles police Officer Rosario Cervantes said.

No one had been arrested in this case as of Thursday evening, LAPD Sgt. Ray Diaz said. Two detectives were sent to the temple Wednesday to investigate, and are looking into the matter as a possible hate crime.

The Anti-Defamation League called the message left at the Northridge house of worship “blatantly anti-Semitic,” in a tweet posted Wednesday. It was not immediately clear if it is related to other instances of vandalism in the San Fernando Valley or elsewhere in Southern California, Diaz said.

Crimes targeting people of the Jewish faith spiked nationwide last year, according to the ADL. The group’s 2018 audit of anti-Semitic incidents counted 1,879 attacks on Jewish people and Jewish institutions. That’s the third highest figure recorded in the U.S. since the ADL began compiling their annual report roughly 40 years ago.

A representative for Temple Ahavat Shalom could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday evening.