Canadian news network CTV reported Sunday that unknown vandals sprayed swastikas and anti-Semitic graffiti on the walls of a Jewish community center in Kelowna, BC.
Anti-Semitic Attacks
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Police in Kelowna say the vandals struck the Okanagan Jewish Community Center sometime between Friday night and early Saturday morning. They sprayed Nazi swastikas and hateful slogans on the walls. They also struck a local elementary school and some vehicles in the area. Police say they have no witnesses or any evidence to link any suspects to the crime.
The city's residents expressed outraged about the crime. "It seems like an ignorant, mindless thing to do," resident Eddie Sanchez told CTV British Columbia on Saturday.
"It's sad, it's very sad that it happens in our community," added Connie Sprague. The community center plans to paint over the graffiti today.
In a report released earlier this month, Statistics Canada said that in 206, Jews were the victims in 63 per cent of hate crimes motivated by religion. Muslims accounted for 21 per cent of victims and Catholics another six per cent. Attacks on property comprise about half of all hate crimes.
Earlier reports stated that a Jewish teenager living in Paris was beaten by a gang of youths wielding metal bars. He was severely injured and is currently unconscious. The 17-year-old was wearing a yarmulka when he was attacked in Paris's multi-ethnic 19th district Saturday evening, according to Ariel Goldmann, vice president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France.
President Nicolas Sarkozy, who was traveling to Israel for a state visit, issued a statement expressing his "profound indignation" and reaffirmed his "total determination to combat all forms of racism and anti-Semitism."
_a.jpg "Photo: Israel Bardugo")
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