Spokane synagogue vandalized with painted swastikas
SPOKANE, Wash. - The Spokane Police Department is looking for the person who painted swastikas on the Temple Beth Shalom building and a Holocaust memorial.
Police were alerted Monday morning about the graffiti.
The Spokesman-Review says the perpetrator was seen alone on the Temple Beth Shalom camera system wearing blue jeans, black boots, and a dark-colored jacket with a hood.
Police are investigating the matter as malicious harassment and a hate crime. The revised code of Washington’s definition of a hate crime includes: "Defacing religious real property with words, symbols, or items that are derogatory to persons of the faith associated with the property."
Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward condemned the graffiti in a statement Monday, saying Spokane is "a community that welcomes different faiths and protects the ability of people to practice those beliefs.
The Anti-Defamation League of the Pacific Northwest tweeted, "Yesterday, Temple Beth Shalom in Spokane was vandalized with swastikas in a disgusting act of antisemitism. We are in close contact with the synagogue and law enforcement to provide any support we can. We cannot allow this hate to ever become normalized."