ROYAL OAK (WWJ) – A Clinton Township woman has been arrested after allegedly spray-painting a swastika on the outside of a Jewish community cultural center in Royal Oak last week.
The 35-year-old woman is suspected of spray-painting the graffiti at the Woodward Avenue Shul on April 27. Police were called to the building, near 10 Mile Road, around 4 p.m. the next day.
Police found the swastika with the letters “AZOV” on the east wall of the building. While it was not immediately clear what "AZOV" refers to, there is a Ukrainian military battallion called Azov has a history of far-right and neo-Nazi beliefs.
Rabbi Mendel Polter of the Woodward Avenue Shul has said the word "would mean 'leave' in Hebrew."
Working with the FBI, Jewish Community Security and Farmington Hills Police, Royal Oak detectives quickly identified the suspect. She was arrested Monday.
Authorities have not released her name, pending arraignment.
“The swift apprehension of the suspect is a perfect example of how our relationships with the community and collaboration with our law enforcement partners bring incidents like these to a close,” Royal Oak Police Chief Michael More said in a press release. “I’m proud of our continued partnership with the Jewish Community Security and the tireless efforts of our detectives and law enforcement partners who were critical to this investigation.”
Rabbi Asher Lopatin, director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, told WWJ the incident was hurtful to the Jewish community.
“Our community will not accept this – against anyone. Against Jews, against African-Americans, against immigrants, against anyone,” he said. “But yet the Jewish community still feels vulnerable and a lot of it is there’s a history of anti-Semitism, when a swastika is painted on synagogue, it hurts.”
Antisemitic incidents, including harassment, vandalism and assault, have been on the rise, with reported incidents up 33% last year alone, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
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