Yesterday, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) initiated a hate crime investigation after antisemitic graffiti was found on the exterior of Canter's Deli, a long-established delicatessen in Los Angeles's Fairfax District. This case underscores the growing instances of hate crimes targeting Jewish communities.
NBC Los Angeles reports that antisemitic messages were spray-painted below a mural depicting Jewish history in Los Angeles, located on an outside wall of Canter's Deli. The Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) California chapter condemned the act, with their Regional Director, Jeffrey Abrams, labelling the desecration of "synagogues, Jewish neighbourhoods, and a mural about local Jewish history on the wall of the iconic Canter's Deli" as "heinous and antisemitic." Additionally, similar graffiti was discovered at Chabad-Atara's Judaica, according to Daily News.
Such instances coincide with increased hate crimes against Jewish communities. As pointed out by the American Jewish Committee's Los Angeles Director, Richard Hirschhaut, in an NBC Los Angeles report, anti-Jewish hate crimes have significantly escalated following last month's terrorist attack and the onset of the Israel-Hamas War. LAPD data reveal 21 reported anti-Jewish hate crimes over the past few weeks, a distinct increase from seven recorded during the same period in 2022. Furthermore, 11 anti-Jewish hate incidents have been reported, compared to six during the same time last year.
The graffiti at Canter's Deli includes comments such as "Israel's only religion is capitalism," "How many dead in the name of greed?" and "Free Gaza," rendered beneath the mural of Jewish history. Many deli patrons and community members have expressed shock and disgust at the hateful statements, with one patron, Dr. Martha Johnson, categorizing these acts, in a reaction to Daily News, as "abhorrent" and "unacceptable."
