The Anti-Defamation League is calling on Colorado Springs police to investigate as a bias-motivated or hate crime this morning’s discovery of a swastika, “4:20″ and “WSC” painted on two walls of a synagogue .
Temple Beit Torah‘s caretaker, Stan Peters, quickly painted over the graffiti after police examined it. They were called to the synagogue at 522 E. Madison St. just after 7 a.m.
Peters said police told him earlier today they are calling the incident “criminal mischief,” according to the Colorado Springs Gazette. The ADL said that’s not sufficient. Police did not return the Post’s call.
The “4:20″ mark alongside the Nazi emblem of a swastika is an apparent reference to the birthday of German leader and anti-Semite Adolph Hitler, said ADL Mountain States Regional Director Scott Levin.
“We call upon the Colorado Springs Police Department to investigate this matter as a bias-motivated crime,” Levin said in a statement issued late this afternoon. “We hope the perpetrators will be found and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We deplore these despicable and hateful acts acts that affect not only the Jewish community but also the community at large.”
