Jewish woman says she caught neighbor in act of drawing swastika on her groceries

A woman in West Hollywood is recounting the moments after she says her doorbell camera allegedly captured her neighbor writing a swastika on a box of Seltzer on her front door. 

Leah Grossman confronted her neighbor on Dec. 5th at 10:15 p.m., seconds after video captured Mark Nakagawa leaning down and writing on her groceries. 

"And I just shattered. You know, I just fell to pieces. Like I've never shook like that before. My toes were shaking. I get emotional thinking about it because it reminds me of all the people I know, my family, my children," she said, while trying to hold back tears. 

The video of the exchange captures Grossman as she asked twice whether there was a problem, then asking directly, "Is that a Nazi symbol, then after, "I have a camera. Like, what is that? What did you draw there?"

     Leah Grossman: "Is there a problem?"

     Mark Nakagawa: "What?"

     Leah Grossman: "Is there a problem?" 

     Mark Nakagawa: "No."

     Leah Grossman:  "Is that a Nazi symbol?"

     Mark Nakagawa: "No." 

    Leah Grossman:  "What is that?"

     Mark Nakagawa: "I'm just walking by here. I don't know." 

     Leah Grossman: "I saw you."

     Leah Grossman:  "I have a camera. Like, what is that? What did you draw there?"

     Mark Nakagawa: "I don't know." 

Grossman--a single, Jewish mom raising two boys under 12--says she was suddenly faced with what she saw as anti-Semitism at her door. 

She says it happened not long after she says Nakagawa called her a fascist in a homeowner's association meeting for hanging the flag of Israel from her balcony after the attacks in Israel. 

"What's going on in the world has really opened up a crevasse of anti-Semitism and I think people feel really emboldened to push Jewish people around. People just shouldn't get away with this," Grossman said. 

When KCAL asked Nakagawa about the incident, he said Grossman called him a fascist, but didn't deny writing the symbol. 

Instead, Nakagawa said he was trying to educate Grossman about the history of it as a Buddhist symbol of love. He repeatedly insisted he did not know how Grossman would react toward the drawing. 

"The way I went about it, in hindsight, the way I went about it was not the right away to go about it. It was bad judgment on my part. I realize that," said Nakagawa. 

KCAL's Laurie Perez reported that there is an actual movement by some to take back the swastika as a sacred symbol by educating people about its origin.