A Hollywood synagogue was vandalized Thursday night for the second time this summer.
Los Angeles police are investigating the incidents as potential hate crimes. A spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department said officers received a report of a hate crime at the scene on Friday.
Video captured by the synagogue’s security cameras showed two masked men crossing Melrose Avenue and approaching the entrance of Kahal Ahavas Yisroel on Thursday night. One of the men, who was wearing a dark hoodie, appeared to hand his phone to another man, who was wearing a light hoodie. The man wearing a dark hoodie then began banging on the window with his forearm before pulling an unidentifiable blunt object from his sleeve and using the object to smash the window of the place of worship.
The man wearing a light-colored sweatshirt appeared to record video of the incident on his cell phone.
Synagogue board member Doni Dror told KCAL News on Sunday that the men smashed the windows but did not get inside; no property was stolen.
He said the synagogue was vandalized just weeks ago and he believed the incidents were related and motivated by hate.
“It’s hard for me to imagine these two incidents happening so close to our building, and it’s hard to say they weren’t,” Dror told KCAL.
An LAPD spokesman did not provide specific information about the previous incident or the status of the current investigation, other than to confirm that a hate crime report was received the next day.
Anti-Semitic hate crimes have surged since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
In the three months after the attacks, anti-Semitic incidents increased nationwide, according to the ADL, an organization founded in 1913 to “stop denigration of the Jewish people and ensure justice and fair treatment for all.” 36%. The organization said the total number of accidents between October 7 last year and January 7, 2024 was 3,291.
Calls and emails to the synagogue were not returned.
“We strongly condemn these clear acts of bigotry and vandalism to places of worship,” said Hussam Eloush, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Los Angeles. “Anti-Semitism or hatred of any kind must not be tolerated in our communities. We stand with the Jewish community against this unacceptable behavior.
