Beverly Hills police are investigating two instances of antisemitic graffiti as a hate crime, and they believe the same person is responsible for both.
At least one of the messages called for the killing of Jews. The graffiti has been covered up, but the Jewish community is still concerned in the city where they say they used to feel safe.
“There are a lot of people that don't like Jewish people for whatever reason. I’m still trying to figure out why,” said Geoffry Lipman, whose apartment building was tagged with an antisemitic message.
Lipman said he was “aggravated” and frightened. After living in Beverly Hills for 20 years, he said, he believed the city was a safe place.
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Beverly Hills police say they got two calls Wednesday afternoon – about 30 minutes apart – both calling for violence against Jewish people. The first call came from Bedford Drive and the second from Palms Avenue.
Renee Firestone lived through the Holocaust as a young woman. Now 99, she’s perturbed by the ongoing hate.
“When this happened, I kept wondering why,” Firestone said.
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The Anti-Defamation League says it’s recorded 312 antisemitic incidents in the U.S. from the day of the Hamas attacks in Israel – on Oct. 7 – through Oct. 23. That’s nearly five times the number of incidents during the same period last year.
But Lipman says the Jewish community has felt uneasy for quite some time, since long before the Israel Hamas war.
For her part, Firestone hopes the wisdom from one generation sparks acceptance and respect among many more to come.
“We can talk to each other. We have to – not just can – we have to talk to each other,” she said. “And we have to make them understand that today it happens to me, but tomorrow it may happen to you.”
