ADL Outraged at Anti-Semitic Vandalism at Mercer Island Jewish School
Update: October 14, 2010: Police arrested three teenagers in connection with the vandalism, charging them with hate crimes.
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Seattle, WA, September 20, 2010 ... The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today expressed outrage over the anti-Semitic vandalism at Mercer Island's Northwest Yeshiva High School hours before Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. School officials discovered swastikas and references to gas chambers sprayed across much of their external wall on September 17.
Pamela Schwartz, ADL Pacific Northwest Regional Chair, and Hilary Bernstein, ADL Pacific Northwest Community Director, issued the following statement:
The defacement of a Jewish school with swastikas and references to the Holocaust—hateful images meant to instill fear, and profoundly offensive not only to Jews but to our broader community—is outrageous and deeply distressing. The fact that this vandalism occurred at the holiest time of the year for Jews makes the incident even more disturbing.
ADL has been in contact with law enforcement officials regarding this incident. We have offered our assistance, and expressed our appreciation for the fact that they are taking it seriously, and appropriately investigating it as a hate crime.
In the wake of this ugly crime, ADL urges the community to join us in speaking out against anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry.
ADL's 2009 Audit of Anti-Semitic incidents, the most recently available, showed that anti-Semitic hate crimes and incidents continue to be a serious problem in Seattle and nationwide.
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The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.
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