Posted on 01/11/2009 2:15:48 PM PST by SJackson
Vandals struck four Chicago-area synagogues early Saturday morning, shattering glass doors and windows with bricks and rocks and spray-painting anti-Israel graffiti.
The caretakers at Lincolnwood Jewish Congregation in the normally quiet village of Lincolnwood just outside Chicago woke up to the sound of shattering glass and saw two adults running through the synagogue's parking lot in ski masks. Four bricks were thrown through the building's front doors, but the vandals were unable to gain entry.
"Death to Israel Free Palestine," was the message left behind on the walls in bright orange spray paint.
Similar incidents occurred around the same time not far away at three synagogues and schools in Chicago's West Rogers Park, a neighborhood dominated by Orthodox Jews. Two windows were shattered at Young Israel of West Rogers Park, "Death to Israel" was spray-painted on the wall of Congregation Anshe Motele and rocks broke a glass window at the Lubavitch Mesivta school.
Lubavitch Mesivta's Rabbi Moshe Perlstein told the Chicago Sun-Times that cameras captured video of the men damaging his school at around 4:40 a.m. The footage shows one man spray-painting the side of the building while the other ran around to the front and threw rocks at the front door, breaking a glass window, he said. The video has been turned over to police.
Lincolnwood and Chicago police and the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force will check whether there was a connection between Saturday's incidents and the December 29 throwing of a Molotov cocktail into Temple Sholom, one of Chicago's oldest and most ornate synagogues, in the Lakeview neighborhood.
The city's Ida Crown Jewish Academy high school received a mailed bomb threat two weeks ago that warned of attacks at other Chicago-area Jewish institutions, including day schools.
A pro-Israel rally was held at Lincolnwood Jewish Congregation on Sunday afternoon to respond to the spate of hate crimes and support Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip. The synagogue's rabbi, Joel Lehrfield, called the perpetrators of the hate crime "cowardly thugs who support Hamas."
"We're more worried about Israel than we are about ourselves," Lehrfield said.
Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago executive vice president Michael Kotzin said it was ironic that he was on a solidarity mission in southern Israel when he heard about the attacks back home.
"I wouldn't say that we're in the front lines in Chicago like here, but there are people who are hostile to and hate Jews here and there, and we have to address it," Kotzin said. "It's important that law enforcement takes it seriously. But we won't be frightened or intimidated, just like the people of Israel. Their behavior strengthens us."
High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. or WOT [War on Terror]
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You are a RACIST for posting this article.
Don’t you know our glorious Mooselimb immigrants are for freedom and to make this country a better place?
Islam is a gutter religion. It should not feel comfortable in the US.
Now that the “magic negro”, and closet muslim is going to be president, you can expect this to become fashionable here just like it is in europe.
(Not a hate crime, it’s against Jews/)
^
Hey you dummies, that was sarcasm.
I think that's irrelevant.
It’s about time something is done about these rogue Amish! /S
“these rogue Amish”
I’m thinking Dutch Calvinists.
It should not be allowed in the US.
IslamoNazi KrystalNacht.
They’re not anti-Semitic; they just want to desecrate all the Jews.
Hmmm. Lemme see. Chicago, home of Barack Obama. Hate crimes against Jews. Pro Palestinian, anti-Israel.
Coincidence? I think not.
While I understand your comment was sarcasm, I think there’s a real risk of religious persecution, as in the persecution of the religious, becoming fashionable. Of late, as I noted on the threads, it began with the disruption of Catholic and Mormon worship by homosexuality advocates. Attacks on Synagogues are more acceptable in the sense that “everyone” understands why they happen, but it’s the same thing. We’re seeing the European intolerance that led to the founding of this nation. Their denominational based, here secular (I don’t assume these were Muslims, if so religious) based, but the same threat. Anti-religion European secularism/paganism cost a few lives last century.
I agree, I think vandalism works just fine. Motivation being a legitimate factor in sentencing.
Amish vandals, who knew?
Finally someone that sees the truth... its obvious that freedom fighters such as these are only doing what they can to send a message of peace......
Obama certainly understands this, in fact they may be some of the very Chicago Obama trained supporters that campaigned so hard for him.
Palestine could be set adrift in the Atlantic and they would still be whining, “Free Palestine.” They exist to lob rockets, and THAT is where their freedom ends.
I’m starting to think we all need to pin yellow stars on our shirts, like the Danish King during WW2, tho.
Maybe our new brave and stalwart PEBO will lead the way?
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