Chabad school in Kiev. Desecrated
'Happy Holocaust' sprayed on Jewish school in Kiev
Security forces in Ukraine presume anti-Semitic graffiti sprayed on wall of Jewish school in honor of Hitler's birthday. Director of Chabad Youth Organization says, 'I fear for childrens lives'
A Star of David hanging on gallows, and the words "happy Holocaust," "Death to the Jews," "Death to Israel," swastikas and a range of cruses against the Jewish people and the State of Israel were sprayed on a Jewish public school in Kiev on the eve of Independence Day.
It seems as though the perpetrators carried out their crime in a bid to mark the birthday of Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler.
According to assessments made by local security forces, neo-Nazi group activists are responsible for the vandalism carried out on the night between Monday and Tuesday. The said school is a Jewish state school in Kiev that is run by the Chabad Youth Organization.
The wall of the Jewish school in Kiev. Swastikas and SS emblem
Moti Levenhartz, director of the Chabad Youth Organization in Kiev, who sends two of his children to the school, claimed in a conversation with Ynet that this latest attack is a step up in anti-Semitism.
"It happens here and there that graffiti is written against Jewish, foreigners, or blacks throughout the city. But in this instance, there was penetration into the very heart of the school in which 500 students learn, from a day care up to high school," explained Levenhartz.
In 2007, the school was torched, but that incident was attributed to youth vandalism. Levenhartz now claims that there is no more place for speculations. "It could be that we were naïve. I am concerned for the Jewish children. I have two kids in this school, one is a year and six months and one is three years old, but all the kids in the school are like my own children."
Regarding sentiment among the Jews in the city, Levenhartz said, "It is especially scary in light of the fact that the local security services explained to us that it wasn't just prank, but was carried out by an organized group that understands the area. At first, we attributed it to Independence Day, but the police here attribute it to Hitler's birthday."
Levenhartz said that security around the school will be increased significantly following the incident: "There are a number of active neo-Nazi organizations here, and we will increase security from now on. We will find the budget and will hire a security company and will add a fence and cameras. Though the police secured the school last night, you can never know how long this will last."
