11:55AM EST: People arriving for the “early morning Kollel” on Tuesday morning were shocked to find Swastikas scrawled on the Waterbury Shul, YWN has learned. The swastikas were accompanied with other hate messages, and were painted on the Bnai Shalom Shul building sometime during Monday night / early Tuesday morning.
Jewish Community activists tell YWN that the Waterbury Police Department responded immediately to the Shul – located on Roseland Avenue, and is taking the incident very seriously. Detectives were on the scene investigating the incident, and it has been classified as a “Hate Crime”.
YWN spoke with a few residents of the Jewish Community in Waterbury, who all stated that they were shocked and appalled that the Shul was vandalized with Swastikas. They were all thankful for the local authorities who have made this case a high priority.
The Bnai Shalom Shul has many members from the ‘Waterbury Yeshiva Community’ and is located just 3 blocks from the Yeshiva.
The shul’s Rov is Rabbi Yossi Sonnenschein Shlita.
YWN PHOTO LINK: Click HERE for photos.
UPDATE 5:30PM EST: The hate crime caught the attention of Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who visited the Shul on Tuesday to make it clear these crimes not tolerable.
“An act of hatred like this one is not a prank,” Blumenthal said. “It can’t be regarded as prank and should be apprehended as a criminal action.”
Police are investigating to see if video from any of the nearby buildings caught the vandals in the act.
Spraying symbols like the swastika is considered a federal offense, and police said they have notified the FBI.
Police are calling it a hate crime and are looking for any leads on who may be responsible.
(YW-92 Reporting for YWN from the scene)
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9 Responses
Every time something like this happens, the news aticles always say “People arriving… were shocked to find…”
Why are people shocked?
Is this the first time this has happened?
The second time? The tenth? The thousandth?
Wake up Yidden!!! No matter how lucrative your career, no matter how fancy your car and your home, YOU ARE IN GALUS! EVEN in this “medina shel chesed”, YOU ARE IN GALUS, AND YOU ARE NOT WANTED HERE.
STOP being shocked!
GET your head out of the sand!
HEAR the time-bomb ticking!
HaSh-m is sending us a message.
Why are we not getting it?
where does ‘ywn’ see ‘swastikas’?
i only see one swastika!
I always said that they should have waterbury shomrim !
AinOhdMilvado:
You are obviously implying all Yiden should go to israel.
Assuming you already live there, these are my comments to you.
1. What about the Russian neo-nazis currently in israel?
2. What about the terrorist problems there?
3. Alot of world anti-semitism is because of the
state of israel.
@sane conservative
point number 3 is totally incorrect.
Anti semitism is just a fact of life and our burden to carry. The fact that the “State Of Israel” is blamed for everything is just an excuse for anti semitism and to legitmize it..if you trace it all back, it comes to the trumped up charge of deicide
point number 2 is almost as equally ridiculous as their numbers are miniscule compared to people that dont have those views
point number 1 I can almost understand but statistically you are about as likely to get hit by lightning then you are to die in a terrorist attack.
The State Of Israel no matter what side of the “Yeshiva” fence you stand on is an amazing place to live, whether you vote in elections and serve in the military or if you live in Meah Shearim and still refer to it as palestein while meeting with Abbas and his henchmen.
If your problem with it is a Haskafic one then just come out and say it..dont hide behind the fear of russian neo nazis or being blamed for anti semitism.
“sane” conservative…
1. the russian neo-nazis – the 50 of them (maybe) are hardly any kind of threat to a country with, B”H, well over 6,000,000 Jews, a powerful Jewish army, and siyata di’shmaya.
2. what about the terrorist threat in the U.S.? You DO remember 9/11 and the plot to blow up the shul in Riverdale (among others). And the pasuk does say something about HaSh-m’s eyes are on WHERE from the beginning of the year to the end of the year – was it the U.S.? – no, I think it’s on Eretz Yisrael.
3. a lot of world anti-semitism is because there are Jews ANYWHERE in the world. Perhaps we should just all convert???
Like I said above, you can keep your head in the sand if you wish, but it is at your own peril – and the peril of your children.
Take a look at what has happened in Europe in the last 5-10 years. It is OVER RUN with yishmaelim. Jews are leaving France in droves. Threats to the Jewish community in London have it on high alert. A frum Jew can not walk the streets in Europe with a yarmulka on his head.
Look at the change in demographics on the heilige Avenue J and Coney Island Avenue area.
Like the saying goes…
“there is none so blind as he who will not see”.
AinOhdMilvado:
if it were your shul/synagogue you would have been shocked too
BerelTzvi…
If you mean UPSET, yes, certainly I would be upset,
AND I would be angry.
But… “Shocked” indicates surprised. I would NOT be surprised.
If you found yourself in a pit of snakes, and you got bitten, you would be in pain, you would be upset, but would you be shocked? I doubt it. You shouldn’t be.
When you are in a pit of snakes, you can pretty much expect to be bitten.
I think the mashul is obvious.
I totally agree with AinOhdMilvado
Sadly in todays society, when tragedy strikes R”L or someone young passes away (as we had yesterday in ISRAEL a 1 year old baby fell & was niftar…) people are shocked BUT THESE ARE ALL WAKE UP CALLES FROM HASHEM that theses things are not coincidence & that ITS TIME FOR KLAL YISROEL TO WAKE UP & DO YESHUVA & RETURN TO HASHEM.