Cops Get a Break in 'Kill All Jews' Graffiti Case

James Polite was charged on Friday
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 3, 2018 3:32 PM CDT
Alleged Arsonist Arrested for Scrawling 'Kill all Jews'
In this Thursday, Nov. 1, 2018 image taken from surveillance video provided by the New York Police Department, a person sought by the NYPD in connection with vandalism at a synagogue in the Brooklyn borough of New York is shown.   (New York Police Department via AP)

Police have arrested a 26-year-old Brooklyn man for scrawling anti-Semitic graffiti throughout a Jewish temple, the AP reports. James Polite was charged Friday with criminal mischief as a hate crime, and making graffiti. Police say he entered the historic Union Temple in the Prospect Heights neighborhood on Thursday evening and used a black marker to deface its walls with racial slurs such as "Kill all Jews" and "Jews better be ready." He also is charged with setting small arson fires in Brooklyn's Williamsburg section, including one at a Jewish banquet hall, per the Daily News. He was arrested wearing the same clothing seen in surveillance video at the temple.

The suspect reportedly was admitted to a hospital psychiatric ward for observation. Temple administrator Ross Brady says the hate crime has spurred the house of worship to move ahead with most of its programs and services. But the graffiti discovery prompted the synagogue to cancel an event by Ilana Glazer, star of the Comedy Central series Broad City. "I got back from Pittsburgh on Wednesday after visiting the community there and seeing really the utter brokenness of that community and what they’re going through," Rabbi Jon Leener tells CBS News. "And then to come back here and to feel unsafe here is really concerning." (Twitter has made a statement about its "Kill all Jews" trending topic.)

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