Swastika Scars Office of Jewish Organization : Vandalism: Painting of Nazi symbol in Orange is fifth anti-Semitic incident reported in the county this year.

ORANGE —  A swastika found spray-painted under the sign of the Jewish Family Service office on Monday is the fifth reported anti-Semitic incident in Orange County this year, and follows a record number of such crimes in 1993.

According to a report released Monday by the Orange County Anti-Defamation League, 41 anti-Semitic acts were reported last year, up from 17 the previous year.

That 141% increase compares to a national increase of 8%, the ADL’s Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents found.

“It’s another display of a cowardly act, someone who is just trying to take out his frustrations on someone else,” said ADL Regional Director Jonathan Bernstein of Monday morning’s vandalism.

More than half of the incidents last year were vandalism. The rest were assaults or threats, Bernstein said. Nationwide, the trend is the opposite: personal attacks outnumber attacks on property, the report found.

“Anti-Semites in Orange County are more cowardly and more comfortable just graffitiing a building and no one knows who did it,” Bernstein said.

Mel Roth, executive director of Jewish Family Service, which provides counseling and social services, said this was the second such incident there this month; a swastika was found on Jan. 6.

“Obviously, it’s harassment and it’s part of the larger, larger wave of anti-Semitism I think is occurring both in the country and in Orange County,” Roth said.

Orange Police Sgt. Barry Weinstein said officers “are taking this very, very seriously. We are monitoring the area and increasing the patrols there.”

Bernstein said the ADL will “continue to work vigorously with victims and law enforcement, alerting them to trends that we see, and we plan to strengthen education efforts, getting speakers into schools to discuss these issues and make it a more tolerant society.”

Pinpointing Anti-Semitism

Reported anti-Semitic incidents in Orange County rose from 17 in 1992 to 41 in 1993, with vandalism being the most prevalent act. Property incidents largely involved swastikas painted on public and private buildings; verbal and written anti-Semitic remarks made up most of the acts against people. A look at where anti-Semitism occurred in 1993: (map)

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Source: Orange County Chapter of the Anti-Defamation League.