Swastikas scratched into prominent Los Angeles synagogue

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Swastikas were scratched into the office windows of a prominent Los Angeles synagogue this week, officials with Ikar said in a statement.

The antisemitic incident occurred overnight Thursday or early Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“Fortunately no one was present or physically harmed,” said the synagogue’s chief executive Melissa Balaban in a statement issued with board chair Ethan Goldstine and board vice chair Michelle Rosenthal.

LA Police Department Officer Drake Madison confirmed to the news outlet that a report had been made. Further information was not available.

Antisemitic incidents reached an all-time high in 2021, with more than 2,700 incidents of assault, harassment and vandalism reported to the Anti-Defamation League. The organization said that was the highest number on record since it started tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979.

The organization reported in April that incidents in California jumped 27% in 2021.