Swastika Drawn On Skokie Kosher Pizzeria Investigated As Hate Crime

Crime & Safety

Swastika Drawn On Skokie Kosher Pizzeria Investigated As Hate Crime Someone defaced EJ's Pizzeria with graffiti containing a swastika on Thanksgiving.

An image shows antisemitic graffiti discovered Saturday on the window of EJ's Pizzeria, 9149 Gross Point Road, in Skokie. Police are investigating the incident of criminal defacement as a hate crime. (Courtesy EJ's Pizzeria)

SKOKIE, IL — After a vandal drew a swastika on a local Jewish-owned business on Thanksgiving, Skokie police are investigating the defacement as a hate crime.

Staff at EJ's Pizza discovered graffiti containing the antisemitic symbol inside of a heart on Saturday night and reported it to police the following day.

Sgt. Brandi Shelton told Patch someone "used an unknown sharp object and a black marker to mark a front window of the business."

Security footage shows a man — identified by the business owner as the suspect — walking up to the kosher pizzeria at 9149 Gross Point Road shortly before 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. He appears to be wearing a jacket and a hooded sweatshirt with a white logo on the front.

"We at EJs Kosher Pizzeria express shock and dismay at the targeted act of hate," the pizzeria's owner said in a social media post. "This incident serves as a stark reminder of the challenges faced by businesses and communities in combating anti-Semitism."

An image captured from security video shows a suspect in the Nov. 23, 2023, incident of criminal defacement at EJ's Pizzeria, 9149 Gross Pointe Road, that Skokie police are investigating as a hate crime. (Courtesy EJ's Pizza)

Antisemitic incidents and hate crimes are on the rise since the start of the current conflict between Israel and Hamas.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, there was a 316 percent increase in the number of antisemitic incidents of assault, harassment and vandalism in the month following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. The ADL has recorded more than 1,200 antisemitic incidents across the country as of Monday.

The vandalism at EJ's came less than three weeks after a group of people reportedly ripped up or stole dozens of pro-Israel yard signs in a Skokie neighborhood, which police have also classified as a hate crime.

And a grand jury has indicted one man with hate crime charges stemming from confrontations outside an Oct. 22 pro-Israel rally on Touhy Avenue. However, ho one has been charged in connection with the video-recorded beating of conservative activist Peter Christos by a multiple pro-Palestinian protestors.

Related: 'United Against Hate': 33 Chicago Area Suburbs Issue Joint Statement

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