OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) – Two months after vandals destroyed a menorah at Lake Merritt in Oakland, antisemitic and pro-Hamas messages have been spray-painted on buildings at the lake. Another piece of graffiti mentioned “Kill Biden,” in maybe a reference to the help that the U.S. president has given to Israel.
On the columns on the jap arm of Lake Merritt, phrases spray-painted at the park state, “Free Palestine,” and different messages calling for an finish of U.S. assist to Israel.
“I feel a lot of sympathy for the Palestinian people. I think they’ve suffered for a long time,” mentioned Kenzel Hagaman, an Oakland resident who was at the lake on Monday.
Still, Hagaman says vandalism shouldn’t be a optimistic solution to get a degree throughout.
“It’s a very complicated situation in the Middle East. It doesn’t boil down to graffiti. The Jewish people have also suffered,” she mentioned.
Oakland-based rabbi Mark Bloom believes the vandalism occurred someday on Friday or Saturday.
A report has been filed with police. This occurred because the company continues to research the destruction of a menorah at Lake Merritt again in December.
Bloom says he texted Mayor Sheng Thao in regards to the latest vandalism however as of Monday afternoon, he didn’t hear again. KRON4 additionally didn’t hear again upon reaching out to the City of Oakland and its public works division for an estimate on when the graffiti shall be cleaned up. The motion is probably delayed by the vacation weekend.
Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area CEO Tyler Gregory is at present with a delegation of state legislators visiting Israel. He says he was disheartened to study in regards to the graffiti again house.
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“This kind of graffiti makes Jews in the Bay Area feel like we don’t belong,” he mentioned. “That we are not welcome here. And, it’s the same type of xenophobia that we’ve seen deployed against other communities like Asian-Americans in recent years.”
The JCRC says greater than three of each 5 Bay Area Jews really feel much less secure of their day-to-day lives because the Hamas terrorist assaults on Israel in October.
