LAPD investigating hate crime after Hollywood synagogue vandalized for second time in recent weeks
Police are investigating a possible hate crime after a Hollywood synagogue was vandalized for the second time in weeks.
Security camera footage shows the moments that two men wearing hoodies cross Melrose Avenue and stop in front of the Kahal Ahavas Yisroel Synagogue on Thursday, one of which can be seen smashing the front windows with an unidentified object.
Doni Dror, a board member at the synagogue, says that the video shows the man using either a hammer or a baton to smash each window, all while recording with the other suspect's phone.
"They didn't take anything," he said. "They just smashed and ran."
The two men can then be seen as they walk back across the street and away from the place of worship.
As a result, Los Angeles Police Department investigators have begun to look into the two incidents as potential hate crimes, which Dror thinks is undoubtedly the case.
"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," he said.
The incident is just the latest in a string of localized reactions as the fighting the Middle East continues after nearly nine months.
The Anti-Defamation League says that antisemitic incidents have seen a sharp increase, nearly doubling from last year. Just last month, dueling protests outside of a Pico-Robertson synagogue turned violent, resulting in several injuries and at least one arrest.
This, paired with the two recent vandalism incidents at their synagogue, is a reason that some members feel that their sense of security has been compromised in a place that should be protected, Dior says.
"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," he said.
So far, no arrests have been made, but investigators say that they are working to locate additional security camera footage from the area to help them identify the suspects. On top of that, they've increased patrols in the area.
