Swastika Drawn On Skokie Kosher Pizzeria Investigated As Hate Crime

SKOKIE, IL — After a vandal drew a swastika on a local Jewish-owned business on Thanksgiving, Skokie police investigated 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."

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

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, no one has been charged in connection with the video-recorded beating of conservative activist Peter Christos by multiple pro-Palestinian protestors that day.

Update:

On Monday afternoon, Skokie police issued a statement announcing that investigators do not think that the vandalism at EJ's was motivated by anti-Jewish hate.

"The incident was initially investigated as a hate crime," Shelton said, "however, the investigation suggests it to be gang-related graffiti."