At the Simon Wiesenthal Center — which was the target of neo-Nazi vandalism earlier this year — Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill increasing the penalties for vandalism against places of worship. Under this new law, damaging or defacing a religious facility such as a church, synagogue, cemetery or mortuary, is a felony. In the past, the offense was classified as a misdemeanor.
Speaking to a group of communal leaders gathered in the Center’s Memorial Plaza, Brown noted that, “this new bill is an important step forward in our society’s determination that freedom of religion will be protected.”
The legislation, authored by Assemblyman Mel Levine, was sparked by the recent wave of anti-Semitic vandalism in Los Angeles and throughout the country. “Whether it’s a Black church in Watts, or a Catholic church or a Jewish synagogue anywhere in this state,” explained Levine, “such acts of racism and bigotry will not be tolerated.”
While praising the new law, Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, noted that, “this law does not alleviate the root causes of anti-Semitism and racial bigotry, however, it does prevent our children from one day saying to us, ‘They didn’t care …’.” The first state to pass similar legislation was Rhode Island where a bill was signed by Governor J. Joseph Garrahy earlier this month.
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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.
