Several Jewish-owned buildings and businesses have been heavily damaged during the spree of riots in California; School buildings, synagogues and other Jewish memorials were also deliberately targeted.

As riots continue throughout the United States on a daily basis, one state that has experienced a high volume of damage is California. While several businesses have a long road of recovery ahead of them, one group that has faced significant damage is the Jewish community.

In what were supposed to be civil protests in response to the unjust killing of George Floyd, things quickly took a turn for the worst and have continued to escalate. These riots rapidly became an opportunity for people to trample others in the process.

The Jewish community in the Los Angeles area is reporting damage to their school buildings, synagogues, businesses and various memorial sites. Making matters worse, the attacks on Jewish property were no coincidence in these cases. They were deliberate. Several vulgar messages were left on Jewish memorials and buildings that were specifically directed toward the Jewish community.

In one case, the statue of a Swedish diplomat, Raoul Wallenberg, who delivered thousands of Hungarian Jews from the Nazis, was defaced with several obscene messages. One synagogue that received vandalism was left with a spray paint message that read, “Free Palestine”, along with other choice words.

The area of LA in view is the Fairfax District, which has actually been led by a Jewish city councilman since 1953. The current city councilman, Paul Koretz, stated, “The attack on our community last night was vicious and criminal. As we watched the fires and looting, what we didn’t get covered were the anti-Semitic hate crimes and incidents. Under the guise of protests, some advanced their anti-Semitic agenda.”

Other notable local businesses were destroyed in the process as well. These include the Kosher Mensch Bakery and Kitchen and Go Couture, a Jewish clothing store.

Additionally, it is reported that damage was dealt to the Congregation Beth Israel, Congregation Tivereth Avi/Morasha Educational Centre, and the Shaarei Tefilah synagogue. The Shalhevet school for girls, sadly, was also targeted.

Not only were several Jewish stores heavily damaged in the process, but they were also looted.