Campaign sign for Ohio Jewish candidate defaced with swastika

Lawrence Cohen, running for Ohio’s 12th Congressional District, says it was ‘a hate crime and it’s extremely disturbing’

By JTA 10 May 2018, 5:51 pm 2

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Campaign sign for Jewish Ohio congressional candidate Lawrence Cohen was defaced with a swastika in May 2018. (Screen capture: Ohio Channel 10 News)

The campaign yard sign of a Jewish candidate for Congress from central Ohio was defaced with a swastika.

The sign for Lawrence Cohen, a Jewish candidate for the Republican Party’s nomination for Ohio’s 12th Congressional District, had been placed on public property, Justin Shaw, director of Jewish community relations at the Jewish Federation of Columbus, Ohio, told the Cleveland Jewish News.

The swastika was discovered on May 6, two days before the state primary.

“It seems like they decided that a Jewish candidate running for Congress was not something they could tolerate and decided to deface the sign,” Cohen told the local Channel 10 news.

Lawrence Cohen, running for Ohio’s US House District 12 seat. (Screen capture: Ohio Channel 10)

“Whether it’s on a banner for a congressional candidate, or the side of a synagogue, or on a Jewish doctor’s office, it’s a hate crime and it’s extremely disturbing,” Cohen also said. He filed a report with the Licking County Sheriff’s Office.

A statement from the Columbus Jewish Federation said that swastikas are “the ultimate symbol of hatred and its appearance locally is extremely disturbing.”

Cohen ran in a field of 10 Republican candidates for the open Ohio 12th seat. He finished in seventh in Tuesday’s primary.