Norwich Jewish Center target of hate crime

NORWICH – The Norwich Jewish Center, located at 70-76 South Broad St., was the target of a burglary this week, and due to the extent of the vandalism and the graffiti left at the scene, the Norwich Police Department is investigating the matter as a hate crime.

The burglary was reported to the department on Wednesday afternoon, but police are still trying to pinpoint the exact time of the incident. They are working to determine who was the last person in the building before the incident, but they are under the impression the event took place in the last few days.



The Jewish Center is located in a large, three story brick building, once the home of the Eaton family. Police have said the vandalism encompassed the entire area. “My estimate of the damage would be in the tens of thousands of dollars,” Angelino said.

Angelino explained that due to the nature of some of the graffiti, which included an anti-Semitic message inside the synagogue, the police are going to pursue the investigation as a hate crime. He explained a hate crime is defined as any one of a number of crimes that is committed in a manner that singles out an individual or group based on their race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or ethnicity.

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Reader Response

2 comments on this story

Itsjustme
April 10th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Norwichite, I am so sorry that this happened to your synogogue! This is a disgusting and heinous act. Please know that your community is standing beside you and that this will not be tolerated! I am not Jewish but my GOD is. Just know the Christians are praying you and your congregation through. We pray for peace in your hearts and the community and that the criminals behind this are brought to justice. SHALOM~
Norwichite82
April 10th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
This is MY synogogue. This is where I grew up, where my father carried on services even when we did not have a Rabbi and where my husband and I were married. It is as much a part of me as anywhere else I have lived. I am horrified and outraged that this type of destruction is still happening in the world. I hope the criminals are found and prosecuted. I hope they have to listen to the members of this congregation tell them that the congregants will not be defined by their cowardly acts. I pray for Tikkun Olam. I wish the police, State Police and FBI the best of luck in finding the idiots who did this.
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