Pictured Above: The anti-Semitic banner posted on a Holocaust memorial in Lakewood, N.J. Credit: ADL New Jersey.

(JNS.org) Vandals posted an anti-Semitic banner on a Holocaust memorial outside a synagogue in Lakewood, N.J.

The Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) New Jersey chapter posted photos of the banner, which read, “(((HEEBS))) WILL NOT DIVIDE US.” 

“Residents, elected officials, community/religious leaders must offer full-throated condemnation of this anti-Semitic attack in #Lakewood,” the ADL tweeted Sunday.

New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Porrino called the vandalism “sickening,” and the state’s authorities announced a $10,000 reward for anyone submitting information leading to the conviction of the culprits. 

The banner appeared after seven Jewish couples from Lakewood, including a rabbi and his wife, were charged with misrepresenting their incomes to receive a combined $2 million in welfare benefits. The couples were arrested in Lakewood last week, and were released without bail after appearing in court. 

In another anti-Semitic incident in Lakewood, fliers referring to the arrests of the Jewish couples were placed on dozens of cars and stated, “Thieving Jews near you $2 million stolen.” 

It has not been determined if the two incidents are connected, but both the banner and fliers contained links to a website operated by a white nationalist group known for racist campaigns.

According to the ADL’s annual audit of anti-Semitic incidents, the first quarter of this year saw an 86-percent increase in anti-Semitic incidents across the U.S. from the same period in 2016.

Sephardic News

http://sephardic.org/

editor@sephardic.org