Synagogue vandalized

Temple Emanu-El in Reno was vandalized on Thanksgiving with anti-Semitic spray painting.

A swastika was painted on a wall of the synagogue. In addition, a raised concrete platform that displays a historic Reno mosaic was painted with a swastika and the words ‘FUCK JEWS HITLER.” The sentence structure applies the expletive against both the Jews and Hitler, suggesting the vandals are not language scholars.

The mosaic was excavated from the area around Second and Center streets during a casino construction and donated to the Temple. It is believed to date to the 1870s or before.

The same synagogue was vandalized about 15 minutes into the new millennium by a Jan. 1, 2001, firebomb attack caught on videotape. The vandal in that case was wearing a T-shirt bearing a cross.

Police spokesperson Steve Frady said Reno police investigators will be viewing a videotape of the site in their investigation of this newest incident.