ROYAL OAK (WWJ) -- The Royal Oak Police Department is working to identify the person(s) responsible for spray painting anti-Semitic hate speech and graffiti on a local Jewish cultural center.
On Friday, around 4 p.m., officers responded to the Woodward Avenue Shul, located on Woodward, just north of 10 Mile, after a passerby reported seeing graffiti on the building.
Authorities say both a swastika symbol and the work "AZOV" were spray painted on the east wall of the synagogue. Rabbi Mendel Polter told the Detroit Free Press that "AZOV" means "leave" in Hebrew.
The graffiti was washed off by Saturday.
Royal Oak PD is investigating with close assistance from the cultural center's staff and federal officials.
Detectives reviewed surveillance footage and say the vandalism likely occurred after 12 p.m. on Thursday.
Anyone with information about the incident, or anyone who observed the synagogue between Thursday afternoon and when the first reports came in on Friday, should contact Royal Oak PD at 248-246-3456.
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