Police are investigating a possible hate crime after a Hollywood synagogue was vandalized for the second time in weeks, KCAL News reported on Monday.
Security camera footage shows the moments that two men wearing hoodies cross Melrose Avenue and stop in front of the Kahal Ahavas Yisroel Synagogue on Thursday, one of which can be seen smashing the front windows with an unidentified object.
Doni Dror, a board member at the synagogue, said that the video shows the man using either a hammer or a baton to smash each window, all while recording with the other suspect's phone.
The two men can then be seen as they walk back across the street and away from the place of worship.
Los Angeles Police Department investigators have begun to look into the two incidents as potential hate crimes.
Incidents of antisemitism have been on the rise in the US since Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.
Last month, a demonstration against the war in Gaza spiraled into violence outside a Los Angeles synagogue.
The incident occurred when anti-Israel protesters gathered outside the Adas Torah Synagogue in the Pico-Robertson section of Los Angeles where an Israel real-estate fair was taking place.
The protesters surrounded the synagogue and prevented Jews from entering. Law enforcement arrested one individual who is facing a misdemeanor charge for allegedly carrying “a spiked flag” which is illegal to carry at a protest.
The protesters also targeted Jewish-owned businesses in the neighborhood.
Last November, an anti-Israel protester caused the death of Paul Kessler, a Jewish man, by striking him in the head with a megaphone.
In May, a judge ruled that the protester will stand trial.