Police investigating DC-area Jewish center vandalized with 19 swastikas

A Washington, D.C.-area Jewish center was vandalized with 19 swastikas overnight Saturday, the organization confirmed to The Hill.

{mosads}The Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Northern Virginia, located outside of Washington in Fairfax, Va., was spray-painted with 19 swastikas overnight, a representative of the center told The Hill on Saturday afternoon.

In a statement, JCC condemned the graffiti and said Fairfax County police were called immediately. Police are investigating, according to the center’s leadership, and the JCC is working to have the graffiti removed Saturday.

The Fairfax County Police Department could not immediately confirm anything related to the incident.

“As many of us recognize, these acts do not represent the community around the J or the community in Northern Virginia,” JCC Executive Director Jeff Dannick and the president of the organization’s board of directors,  David Yaffe, said in a statement.

“The J as a whole, and particularly through the focused efforts of our Committee for a Just and Caring Community, will continue to participate as a positive force in both the Jewish and wider communities,” they added.

Yaffe said the incident was “disturbing on multiple levels,” but declined to comment further, citing the ongoing police investigation.

Marcus B. Simon, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, posted photos of the graffiti on his public Facebook page Saturday, writing that he was “thoroughly disgusted, hurt and angry at this display of hate.”

Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine (D), called for “fierce condemnation” and an “over-abundance of love and unity,” following the vandalism.

“An insidious rise in hateful actions and anti-Semitism is happening in Virginia and across the country. We must meet it with fierce condemnation and an over-abundance of love and unity. We cannot allow hate to fester,” he wrote on Twitter, alongside an image of the JCC.

This is the Fairfax Jewish Community Center this morning.

An insidious rise in hateful actions and anti-Semitism is happening in Virginia and across the country. We must meet it with fierce condemnation and an over-abundance of love and unity. We cannot allow hate to fester. pic.twitter.com/85bW2Hl0th

— Tim Kaine (@timkaine) October 6, 2018

State attorney general Mark Herring took aim at Virginia politicians for being “complacent about the rise of white supremacist violence and anti-Semitism.”

“Way too many politicians in Virginia are way too complacent about the rise of white supremacist violence and anti-Semitism. The threat is real, it’s growing, and we have to take a stand,” Herring tweeted Saturday morning.

Way too many politicians in Virginia are way too complacent about the rise of white supremacist violence and anti-Semitism. The threat is real, it’s growing, and we have to take a stand. https://t.co/RPv8VitKGA

— Mark Herring (@MarkHerringVA) October 6, 2018

Eileen Filler-Corn, another Virginia delegate, said she was “Shocked and terribly saddened…yet again.”

“Shocked and terribly saddened…yet again. Woke up to hear the news of more hate-swastikas painted all over the front of the @JCCofNoVA. I am here now. So sad. Our community however, remains strong and united. This hate does NOT represent our Northern VA community!” she wrote on Twitter, late Saturday morning.

Shocked and terribly saddened…yet again. Woke up to hear the news of more hate-swastikas painted all over the front of the @JCCofNoVA. I am here now. So sad. Our community however, remains strong and united. This hate does NOT represent our Northern VA community! pic.twitter.com/zgPOsdZpTv

— Eileen Filler-Corn (@EFillerCorn) October 6, 2018

The center has been targeted by vandalism before.

Last year, the JCC was spray-painted with anti-Semitic messages including, “Hitler was right,” on the first night of Passover, a local NBC affiliate reported.

This is a developing story. Updated 1:55 p.m.