Police in Uman have arrested a resident of the city for defacing a Jewish building with a swastika and hate graffiti. The local Jewish community has expressed outrage at the incident, but clarified that the motives behind the vandalism are unclear.
The culprit was arrested after a Breslov community lawyer appealed to the police, leading to the culprit being arrested by the SBU.
“Throughout the year, our legal department is working around the clock with cases of antisemitism throughout Ukraine,” said Rabbi Natan Ben-Nun, the head of the Breslov Union.
“In the case of an incident that is against the civil law, we send details to the police, who see antisemitism as a serious offense.”
Another official in the Breslov community claims that the phenomenon is relatively rare in Ukraine. “According to the ADL, Ukraine has some of the lowest rates of antisemitism in the world, with barely any such incidents since 2004.”
“These kinds of incidents are criminal offenses in Ukraine, including the use of totalitarian symbols, dissemination of communist or Nazi symbols, and dissemination of totalitarian propaganda. The suspect is expected to face five years imprisonment, subject to a court ruling.
The graffiti was removed by municipal workers this morning.