Antisemitic graffiti found in London

Metropolitan Police are investigating the graffiti as "a racially motivated hate crime," according to the police force website, which noted that no arrests have been made at this time.

By RACHEL WOLF
A general view shows the London skyline from the City of London to Westminster, in central London, Britain June 15, 2017 (photo credit: REUTERS/PETER NICHOLLS)
A general view shows the London skyline from the City of London to Westminster, in central London, Britain June 15, 2017
(photo credit: REUTERS/PETER NICHOLLS)
Stars of David with "9 11" were spray painted on buildings, including South Hampstead Synagogue, in London's Belsize Park and Hampstead neighborhoods. The "9 11" that accompanies the Stars of David refers to the antisemitic theory that the Jews were responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Metropolitan Police are investigating the graffiti as "a racially motivated hate crime," according to the police force website, which noted that no arrests have been made at this time.
“I’ve had to report antisemitic graffiti in Hampstead a number of times before, including by a banned neo-Nazi group, but I have never seen anything approaching this extent,” Oliver Cooper, a Conservative councilor for Hampstead, told The Guardian.
Cooper tweeted images of the graffiti in different places in north London, saying "I am walking around Hampstead documenting all the antisemitic graffiti that mars our community this morning, and just got to South Hampstead Synagogue. This is a place of peace and prayer, desecrated by the world’s oldest hatred." He also noted on his Twitter account that he was "sickened by the antisemitic graffiti."

"This is clearly a concerning incident and one we are taking seriously. We have liaised with our partners in order to remove the graffiti and various enquiries are underway to find who is responsible. Officers will be on patrol throughout the area in order to provide some reassurance to local communities," Inspector Kev Hailes said in on the police force's website.

Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn Tulip Siddiq told The Guardian that the graffiti was “unbelievable, senseless, disgusting antisemitism at the heart of our community.”
This graffiti comes as five people were stabbed at a synagogue in Rockland County, New York. The NYPD's Counter-terrorism unit tweeted that it was "closely monitoring" reports. According to Rabbi Shmuel Gancz, head of the Chabad Jewish Center of Suffern, three victims were released from the hospital and two were critically injured and underwent surgery.
"Let me be clear: antisemitism and bigotry of any kind are repugnant to our values of inclusion and diversity and we have absolutely zero tolerance for such acts of hate,"  New York Governor wrote in an open letter.


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