Illustrative: A swastika and the word 'kikes' spray painted on the Leeds Etz Chaim Synagogue sign. (UK Jewish News)
An anti-Semitic slur and a swastika were spray painted overnight Tuesday-Wednesday on a sign outside the Etz Chaim synagogue in the city of Leeds, England, according to local police.
Authorities were treating the act of vandalism as a hate crime and police increased the number of patrols in the area in response, Israel’s Channel 10 reported.
MP Fabian Hamilton (Chris McAndrew / Wikipedia)
Witnesses said racist slogans were found scribbled on a sidewalk near the Jewish house of worship as well, according to the BBC.
Following the incident, Leeds North East Member of Parliament Fabian Hamilton, who is Jewish, said that the act of vandalism was an “attack on the entire community.”
“There is no room for hatred like this in Leeds, a community that boasts its multiculturalism, a place where people of all faiths live together and work in cooperation,” he said, according to Channel 10.
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