Vandals deface New Jersey Holocaust memorial

An American White supremacist group operating in New Jersey, NJ Attorney General Christopher Porrino says incident is "sickening".

By TAMARA ZIEVE
Updated: JULY 3, 2017 23:23
neo Nazi 248.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
neo Nazi 248.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
Vandals defaced the Holocaust memorial at Lakewood Synagogue in New Jersey, draping it with a large antisemitic banner on Sunday.
Black letters printed on the large white canvass read “(((Heebs))) will not divide us.” The word “Heebs” is an ethnic slur used for Jews, and the use of triple parentheses around the word is an antisemitic symbol known as an “echo,” to highlight Jews, predominantly used to flag people perceived to be Jewish on social media, singling them out for harassment.
At the bottom of the banner is the link to a website run by an American whitesupremacist group, which also features on recently distributed antisemitic flyers in the town. The leaflets feature pictures of three Jews and reference the arrest of seven Lakewood couples last week, including a rabbi and his wife, over an alleged fraud scheme.
New Jersey Attorney-General Christopher Porrino described Sunday’s incident as “sickening” and said the authorities are offering a $10,000 reward for information about the crime and conviction.
ADL New Jersey thanked the Lakewood Police Department for its “expeditious response to this heinous act of hate.”
“Residents, elected officials, community/religious leaders must offer full throated condemnation of this antisemitic attack,” the group said.