Anti-Semitic graffiti was discovered on a side door of Chabad on River in Tucson, Arizona on Monday morning.
A large red swastika was painted on the door. Underneath, also in red, was the phrase “Dirty K***”.
The center’s director, Rabbi Rami Bigelman, discovered the defaced door as he was about to give a Torah class. He estimated the vandalism done in red paint took place over two days, reported ColLive.
The bottom graffiti appears to be of a slightly different shade of red than the swastika above it.
Chabad on River contains a synagogues and classes. It is one of five Chabad centers in Southern Arizona.
Chabad Tuscon executive director Rabbi Yossi Shemtov told ColLive, “We are determined not to be affected by this distressing incident and will continue serving the wider community.”
Jewish Arizona State Representative Alma Hernandez expressed shock at the news.
“Sad to wake up to the news that @Chabad on River was vandalized,” she tweeted. “When it happens to one, it happens to all of us. The amount of Jewish hate isn’t shocking. The silence is. This is NOT my Tucson. Please keep AZ Jewish community in your prayers.”
The Tucson Police Department said in a statement, “There is no place for anti-Semitic hate crimes in our community. We urge the community to collectively increase awareness around places of worship and report any suspicious activities.”
This latest anti-Semitic vandalism follows a May incident where a “small boulder” was used to smash the front door windows of a Tucson synagogue. Congregation Chaverim, already financially strapped, was left with both glass panes of its front door smashed in.