Police are investigating after a floor tile with a swastika burned into it was found outside a Jewish school in Union County on Monday afternoon.
At around 1:40 p.m. Monday, the tile was found in the driveway of a yeshiva in Union Township, said Michael Sheets, spokesman for the Union County Prosecutor’s Office.
As of Thursday afternoon, there were no suspects and the case was being treated as a bias incident, said Sheets. The Prosecutor’s Office and Union Township Police are both investigating the case, he said.
On Twitter, Dov Ben-Shimon, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest, posted that a “floor tile with a burned swastika” had been left in the driveway by a Jewish facility. Ben-Shimon condemned the act as a hate crime and called the symbol, long-associated with antisemitism after it was co-opted by the Nazi party, “evil.”
“We are closely following this disturbing development,” Ben-Shimon said in a statement.
“We’ve seen too many examples of these kinds of hate crime, and they are never acceptable. We’re grateful for our law enforcement partners, on the local, state, and federal levels, for their continued service and commitment to keeping us all safe and secure. We’re also grateful for the words of comfort and support we receive from local leaders in the community who stand, like us, against hate and threats. Swastikas, hate-speech, and similar crimes must be unreservedly condemned.”
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Rodrigo Torrejon may be reached at rtorrejon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rodrigotorrejon.
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