Swastikas drawn in classroom of Boston-area Jewish teacher

Three swastikas were drawn on a desk in the classroom of a Jewish teacher at a Boston-area high school — the third time in recent months that a swastika has been discovered there.

The swastikas were discovered Tuesday at Andover High, located about 20 miles north of Boston, hours before the start of Hanukkah.

The incident was being investigated as a hate crime, the Boston Globe reported, citing Andover town officials.

“The moment we write these acts of intolerance and hatred off as mere ignorance, we are admitting that we must live with hate in our community,” Town Manager Andrew Flanagan said in a statement issued jointly by him with the police department and school district. “Our community is much stronger than that. We are a vibrant, tolerant, welcoming community, and we will not allow hate speech or hate crimes to pervade in our schools, or anywhere else.”

The school district has contacted the Anti-Defamation League to assist in conducting faculty and staff training on how to deal with the incident, according to the statement, which also noted that school officials would reach out to local religious and civic leaders to hold a public forum at the school early in the new year.