Chicago Loop Synagogue Vandalized With Swastikas and Broken Windows
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
(JTA) — A downtown Chicago synagogue was vandalized in what police believe is a hate crime.
The front window of the nearly 90-year-old Chicago Loop Synagogue was smashed early on Saturday morning and copies of swastikas were taped to its front doors.
Police were called at 12:30 a.m. on Saturday to the synagogue after construction workers saw the attack in progress, according to reports.
The vandal was caught on surveillance camera, which was released to the public later on Saturday. The vandal is a white male wearing dark clothing and a dark face mask.
Police told local media they are investigating the incident as a hate crime.
“The Chicago Jewish community will not be intimidated by anti-Semitic attacks on a house of worship,” AJC Chicago Director Amy Stoken said in a statement. “Chicagoans must speak together clearly that the hatred behind this destructive behavior will never be accepted.”
Saturday morning Shabbat services went ahead as scheduled.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
