Right-wing extremists struck again on Thursday, with the latest graffiti attack
against Peace Now’s Jerusalem offices.
The extremists sprayed “No
leftists, no terror attacks” on the fence outside of the office, located in the
German Colony neighborhood.
Police opened an investigation.
The
attack came on the 29-year anniversary of the murder of Emil Grunzweig, an
activist who was killed by a grenade thrown at a protest outside Prime Minister
Menachem Begin’s residence in 1983. Peace Now executive director Yariv
Oppenheimer said he doubted the vandals knew the anniversary, but it was still
symbolic.
“On this date, it shows even more clearly our feeling that the
violence from political right and the price tag attackers won’t stop,” said
Oppenheimer. “Without taking care of this problem from the root and dealing with
the hilltop youth, the problems will just continue to develop.”
This is
the fifth time this year that Peace Now has been vandalized by right-wing
extremists. One Peace Now staff member has had graffiti sprayed outside her
apartment twice, and the offices have had racist messages three
times.
Oppenheimer worried that the attacks will only get worse. “Now
we’re in a quieter period and [price tag attacks] are still
happening.
Just think about what they will do if the government stands by
their decision to evacuate Migron, the violence will just continue to get
worse,” he said.
Due to the general strike, the graffiti will most likely
stay there over the weekend, according to a municipality spokeswoman.
The
attack at Peace Now came two days after the most recent price tag incidents in
Jerusalem. On Tuesday, two cars and a stone fence at the Valley of the Cross
Monastery, below the Israel Museum, were covered with anti-Christian graffiti,
and the cars’ tires were slashed. The vandals wrote “Jesus drop dead,” “Death to
Christians” and “Kahane was right.” They called themselves “The Maccabees of
Migron” and left the words “price tag.”
Vandals also attacked the Hand in
Hand Center for Jewish-Arab Education elementary school in the Patt
neighborhood, where they spray painted “Kahane was right” and “death to Arabs”
on the wall in large letters.
There are no suspects in the events from
earlier this week, police said on Thursday.