Three juveniles have been arrested for allegedly breaking into and vandalizing the Chabad Jewish Center on West Main Street Wednesday, the police said.

Barnstable police Patrolman Wayne Ellis found two suspects behind an apartment building by the Chabad center shortly after Betty Gladstein, a member of the congregation, discovered the ransacked religious center and called the police. Ellis was one of 10 officers who responded to Gladstein’s call at 11:50 a.m. Wednesday, Barnstable police Lt. Sean Balcom stated in a press release yesterday.

Gladstein went to the center and found doors kicked in, objects missing and religious items thrown on the floor. She saw two young men running from the property.

A preliminary investigation indicates images of Adolf Hitler and anti-Semitic symbols found on the rabbi’s computer were downloaded during the break-in, Balcom stated.

Police recovered some of the stolen items from the building where the suspects were located. A third juvenile was later arrested at Barnstable High School, across the street from the Jewish center.

The three suspects face arraignment in Barnstable Juvenile Court on charges of breaking and entering, larceny of a building, willful injury to a church, and committing property damage for the purpose of intimidation based on religion.

“This was not a break-in to steal money,” insists Chabad’s co-director Rabbi Yekusiel Alperowitz. “It was kids violating a Jewish center precisely because it is a Jewish institution. They wanted to, and did, make a complete desecration.”

In the 15 years since Alperowitz has lived in Hyannis, Massachusetts, the building has been desecrated only once. Seven years ago, a swastika was emblazoned on the school’s playground. The center does have an alarm system in place, and plans are underway to add additional security measures including motion-detector cameras.

Community members, both Jewish and non-Jewish, have come forward to “express their support and distress over our situation,” says Alperowitz. The rabbi received calls from the town’s councilman and manager, inviting him to a meeting this afternoon and requesting he speak at the council meeting tonight.

(Source: Cape Cod Times)