Earlier this week, police officers on patrol found an offensive, antisemitic symbol spray painted on the front of a convenience store at the 2600 block of Harbor Blvd., according to the Costa Mesa Police Department.
The officers obtained surveillance camera video footage of the vandalism and shared the suspect’s description with other CMPD patrol units.
The suspect was located hours later and arrested for vandalism and a hate crime.
While the CMPD blurred the image it is easy to discern that the image was a swastika, the symbol of the Nazi Party that killed millions of Jews during WWII.
According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), in 2023, the Jewish community of Orange County/Long Beach experienced 88 recorded antisemitic incidents, which included:
- 59 incidents of harassment
- 27 incidents of vandalism
- 2 incidents of assault
This represented a 60% increase from 2022. The ADL typically releases its annual audit in the spring, so the 2024 data may not yet be published or finalized.
A 2024 Pew Research Center survey found that a growing number of Americans believe Jews face “a lot” of discrimination. The survey also explored views on speech related to Israel and Palestine, showing that while most Americans support free expression, calls for violence against Jews or Muslims were widely rejected
