Jewish Center Is Vandalized for 4th Time in 2 Weeks

In what police are calling a hate crime, vandals broke into a Jewish community center in Ventura for the fourth time in two weeks and caused major damage, authorities said Tuesday.

Between Saturday morning and Tuesday morning, vandals smashed windows, broke furniture and burned Bibles and toilet paper in the Chabad Community Center, which is undergoing renovation on Telegraph Road, near Ventura College, police said.

In the other incidents, including some that center officials did not report to police, windows were smashed and paint tossed around, said Sgt. Skip Young, community policing agent with the Ventura Police Department.

From one window, a Star of David could be seen painted on an inside wall with a blue number 6 painted on each of three of the points.

“That was done in the last two weeks, during a different incident,” Ventura Police Officer Tony Gomez said. “These are definitely hate crimes. We are seeing a lot more of this going on in Ventura,” he said, referring to the defacement of religious centers.

About 11 a.m. Tuesday, police responded to a call from Rabbi Yakov Latowicz, who found a wall-sized mirror shattered and the front entrance broken, Gomez said. The large front room was still under construction, but the floor was full of shattered glass, overturned furniture and refuge.

Ripped white curtains hung from some windows and a long smudge of paint lined a back wall.

A cross, dating from when the building served as a church, was thrown on the altar, police said.

Police lifted some fingerprints, but there are no suspects at the moment, Gomez said. “We are still investigating this,” he said.

Police reports show the only other reported incident occurred Feb. 2, when police were called to the center by Latowicz, who reported a burglary. Several cabinets had been rifled through, but nothing had been taken, Young said.

Young said a paper towel dispenser and a toilet tank lid were found on the grounds but there were no reports of graffiti or indications of religious slurs. He said the vandals during the first attack may not have known the building had a religious purpose.

The building has been vacant while awaiting renovations for some time, Young said. He said the barranca behind the building makes patrolling more difficult and creates a safety hazard. “We will increase the foot patrol because the area is not visually accessible,” he said.

It is not uncommon for vandalism to go unreported, Young said. But since a hate crime is suspected, he said the Police Department would like to obtain more information on the prior attacks.

“We are going to jump on this with both feet tonight. This is a hate crime. There is no other way to look at it when they burned some Hebrew text and left some non-Hebrew text unburned,” Young said.

Anyone with information is urged to call Young at 339-4369.