Vandals Daub Swastikas on Israeli Center

In the second incident of its kind in less than a month, vandals on Thursday spray-painted swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans on the walls of an Israeli cultural center in Balboa Park.

The defacing, which left three walls of the House of Israel covered with red graffiti, was done in late morning, between 11:20 and 11:30 a.m.--shortly after maintenance workers had painted over a single swastika that had been sprayed on a corner of the building late Wednesday night.

San Diego police said they have no suspects, but investigators were trying to locate two women who apparently witnessed the episode and reported it to park workers.

“These ladies told people in the gift shop that two teen-agers were vandalizing one of the cottages, but then they left, and we were unable to question them,” said Officer James Dickinson, who works out of the Police Department’s Balboa Park storefront. “Without them or other witnesses, we don’t even have a description.”

Dismayed But Not Shocked

Members of the volunteer committee that operates the House of Israel, a quaint adobe cottage built along with 15 similar structures in 1935, said they were dismayed but not shocked by the vandalism.

“Given the tenor of the time, and the fact that we’ve seen this fringe element do this kind of thing before, I am not too surprised,” said Morris Showel, president of the Cottage of Israel Committee. “But I am upset. I don’t know what we can do.”

Councilman Bob Filner, whose district includes Balboa Park, condemned the vandalism and urged San Diegans to “let these thugs know this sort of thing will not be tolerated in our community.”

“It is hard to believe that this kind of outrageous conduct is still going on,” Filner said as he surveyed the vandalism. “I hope the police will vigorously search for whoever did this and swiftly punish them in a way that sends a clear message.”

Thursday’s incident followed by less than a month the spray-painting of the Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Carlos. Six suspects--all of them minors--were arrested in that incident, which left the walls and three stained-glass windows of the synagogue covered with graffiti.

Loosely Tied to Skinheads

Some of those suspects, three of whom are female and attend University of San Diego High School, are loosely affiliated with the so-called Skinhead movement, whose members are linked by shaved or closely cropped hair and a neo-Nazi political orientation.

Police were reluctant to speculate Thursday about the involvement of so-called Skinheads in the House of Israel vandalism. But Pete Cummings, a street person who has lived in Balboa Park for more than two years, said he saw a young man with a shaved head loitering near the Cottage of Israel shortly before the swastika appeared on its walls Wednesday night.

“He was wearing camouflage pants, combat boots and a camouflage hat, and he had a backpack,” Cummings said. “I know most of the people who hang out up here, and this guy didn’t fit in. He gave me weird vibes.”

Cummings said he spotted the man again Thursday morning in the same area, but that the man ran off before he could talk to him.

By 4 p.m., city painters had arrived at the cottage and were painting over the red graffiti. Before long, the slogans--including “Die Juden,” “Juden Out” and “Hitler was Right”--along with the many swastikas were no longer visible.

Estimated $200 to Repaint

Larry King, deputy director of the city’s General Services Department, estimated it cost about $200 in materials and labor to repaint the cottage.

“I just can’t believe that this kind of racist stuff is still happening,” King said. “This just sickens me. If they try it again, we’ll paint it again. I figure we’ve got more paint than they do.”

The House of Israel is one of 16 tiny, tile-roofed cottages built in 1935 as welcoming huts for visitors to the Pacific Exposition. Collectively, they are known as the House of Pacific Relations and are shared by volunteer groups representing 27 countries. They are open only on Sunday afternoons, when free refreshments along with a dose of cultural information are provided to visitors.

Although the vandalism was clearly upsetting to those who operate the House of Israel, Showel noted that the incident marked the “first time we’ve had any serious difficulty of this kind since we took over the building in 1958.”

Several months ago, a vandal hung the building’s identifying “Israel” sign upside down and affixed anti-Semitic stickers on parts of the building. But it took only five minutes to reverse that damage, Showel said.

“This is a little different, and I’m unhappy about it,” he said. “But we’ve always found this a very tolerant and accepting community, and we plan to continue as an informational arm of Israel.”