Los Angeles police are investigating a possible hate crime that happened in Encino over the weekend, when a suspect was spotted spray painting antisemitic graffiti on the side of a Jewish-owned shop.
The incident was caught on security camera footage outside of Mitzvahland, a Jewish religion supply store. It shows a man painting a hate symbol in bright yellow on the front door of the shop during Shabbat, a weekly observance in the Jewish faith that happens starting at sunset on Friday evening.
“These things happen only because of ignorance,” said Rabbi Yossi, who owns Mitzvahland. He’s operated the shop for 30 years, and says that there was no hesitation when it came time to reopen. “It’s not an easy thing to see.”
The vandalism has since been removed from the door by good Samaritans.
“People of the community came forward and they didn’t feel comfortable. They cleaned it up for us,” Yossi said.
Leron Konowiecki stopped by the store on Tuesday to pickup a gift for his newborn son. He said that incidents like this are why he plans to teach his son important moments about his faith.
“This is ingrained in our genes. We’ve been going through this for thousands of years,” Konowiecki said. “It makes me feel very sad about the community, but at the same time, it’s important to teach my son compassion and kindness.”
Yossi echoed that sentiment, hopeful that people can come together instead of spreading hate.
“The most important thing is we have to see how we can coexist, and we have to bring more light into this world,” he said. “Every action I do, I have to ask myself, ‘Am I bringing light or am I bringing darkness? Am I healing the world, or am I destroying the world?”
LAPD detectives say that they’re investigating the incident as a hate crime, along with other reports of antisemitic graffiti in Encino and other Los Angeles communities. Most recently, the banner surrounding Wilbur Charter Elementary School in Tarzana was covered in hate symbols as children were returning to school after summer break.
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