‘I Want Jexit’ Spray Painted On Washington D.C. Businesses
(JTA) — The words “I want Jexit” were spray painted in bright yellow outside of two businesses in northeast Washington, DC.
One of the businesses targeted on Friday was an auto shop called Shalom Tire and Auto Repair.
Jexit is believed to stand for Jews Exit, a play on Brexit, which stands for Britain’s exiting the European Union.
In December, the slogan was painted on a wall of the American Federation of Teachers headquarters located in the District of Columbia,according to the Washington Post, and the group, which has a Jewish president, called it anti-Semitic.
Washington, D.C. police said they have been discussing the graffiti with groups knowledgeable about hate crimes, including the Anti-Defamation League, the Post reported. The police also have discussed it with leaders of the local Jewish community but note that there is no consensus on whether or not it is anti-Semitic.
The term has been used on anti-Semitic websites as a slur, the Jewish Journal reported.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO