From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, December 6, 2022
Police investigating after swastika sprayed at Missouri elementary school
Police in Springfield, Missouri, are investigating after a swastika was sprayed on an elementary school during a vandalism spree.
The vandalism at York Elementary School, which is under construction, was found on Saturday morning, police spokeswoman Cris Waters says.
Stephen Hall, spokesman for Springfield Public Schools, says the district immediately replaced the window where the swastika was found and removed the graffiti. He declined to say how much damage was found but said it will require the district to file an insurance claim to recover the costs, the Springfield News-Leader reports.
Hall said the vandalism will not delay the opening of the new York Elementary School in January.
9. SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI: " Leaders say they replaced windows at an elementary school after vandals wrote hate speech symbols…Over the weekend vandals jumped the fence and spray-painted a swastika on a window in the front of the school ."https://t.co/wHkPfZalkC
— Alex Goldstein (@alexjgoldstein) December 5, 2022
The vandalism comes amid a surge of anti-Jewish incidents across the country, including antisemitic comments from some celebrities such as the rapper Ye.
In April, the Anti-Defamation League reported a record number of antisemitic reports in 2021. The organization said the 2,717 incidents of assault, harassment and vandalism was a 34% increase over the previous year and the highest number since the ADL began tracking the events in 1979.
The Times of Israel Community.