"Antisemitic Intimidation: Repeated Swastika Incidents at Apartment"

There was a series of four hate crimes at my apartment complex where someone etched swastikas onto the elevator walls/doors that are mere feet from my front door. The one thing that I want you to gain from this description is how unprepared I was, and how important emotional support became.

What I found was that the first incident caught me completely off guard. I had no clue what to do. I was new to the area and had not yet joined a local Temple, and it did not occur to me to call one. When I contacted the police, I was informed that this was an act of vandalism, which meant they could not take a report from me since I was not the property owner. Additionally, the management was also not interested in making a report. They simply removed the swastika from the inside of the elevator. I felt alone, confused, and helpless.

When the second incident occurred (Yom Kippur 2025) I researched online using ChatGPT before calling the police again. But although things went better (the police actually took a report for the hate incident and took pictures of both the elevator doors and the mezuzah on my front door), it did not go much further than that, since once again the apartment office didn't care do anything more than paint over the swastika. I also filed a report with the ADL and FBI.

The third incident occurred on Yom HaShoah 2026. This time I was thoroughly prepared. A police report was filed despite the officer's very obvious attitude that I was the one creating the nuisance. I filed the usual reports with the ADL and FBI as well as with both the State and County agencies responsible for hate crimes. Unfortunately because this is a hate incident rather than a hate crime, these agencies are not really set up to provide any assistance. With the help of a friend, I also contacted several local newspapers, and one of them did publish a short article on their website, but only after a long conversation with the reporter who initially felt it was understandable given the bombings in Gaza. It also helped greatly that I finally had the sense to inform my Temple, and did receive emotional support. The complex did remove the swastika three days later. When I suggested to the office that surveillance cameras might be a good idea, I was informed that this suggestion had already been made to the owners, and the owners were not interested in covering the expense.

The fourth incident occurred only a week later, and to be honest I was so behind on work due to the third incident, I simply didn't have the time to handle things this time. I contacted the office and that was it. I asked in an email if they would be interested in surveillance cameras if I myself covered the charge, but I got no reply. I did supply the office a copy of the Harassment Prevention Guide for California Housing Providers.

I very much think that I would have benefited from both preparedness for that first incident, and honestly, I think if my Temple had had some kind of support plan in place, the ball would not have been dropped for that fourth incident.