Police patrols have been increased at all the six synagogues in this middle class community following the desecration of two synagogues several days ago. Swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans were spraypainted on Shomrei Torah and Temple Beth Sholom.
In addition, vandals also daubed anti-Semitic epithets and swastikas on the Fair Lawn Jewish Center, the community’s water tower and the door of an auto shop at the high school. Police suspect the acts of vandalism were commited by teen-agers and not related to the discovery last June that a six member cell of the Ku Klux Klan had apparently been meeting secretly in an apartment complex here.
It was the first major outbreak of anti-Semitism reported in northern New Jersey since a new state law took effect in September that provides for a five-year jail term for anyone convicted of attempting to incite fear by burning crosses, painting swastikas or defacing buildings with threatening symbols.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
