Jewish Deli Vandalism Investigated As Hate Crime: Naperville Police

NAPERVILLE, IL -- Jewish deli Schmaltz Delicatessen in Naperville was vandalized on Fathers' Day with an anti-Semitic message. The message was spray painted just outside the door. Police responded around 4:00 p.m.

"Today sadly, our Father's Day at Schmaltz Deli ended with a shocking crime when vandals spray painted a message intended to be anti-Semitic just outside our front door," a Schmaltz Facebook post says.

The vandalism took the form of the message "free Gaza" in black spray paint on the concrete outside the front door of Schmaltz. To Howard Bender, the deli's owner, this was more than vandalism.

"This is absolutely a hate crime," Bender said. "[It] isn't about the statement, it's about the targeting of a Jewish American business."

The Gaza Strip is a Palestinian territory which has been affected by a Israeli and Egyptian blockade for the past decade. The area has been a source of contention for decades.

While non-violent, the vandalism is considered a hate crime. The FBI defines a hate crime as a "criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity."

The Naperville Police Department confirmed that it is investigating the incident as a hate crime. Investigators are trying to obtain video surveillance.

Bender said he spent several hours cleaning the spray paint. Luckily, he said, the owner of the shoe repair shop next door came out with some chemicals to help dissolve the paint. "We scrubbed and scrubbed. Black spray paint on concrete is not easy."

"Being silent about things like this... is catastrophically wrong," he said. He noted that people have been desensitized to similar crimes in the recent past. "That's why I'm speaking up about it."

The Facebook post, written by Bender, ends by saying "Schmaltz Deli will continue to be a proud member of the Naperville community. We know this is not the true Naperville we are a part of, and that we have endless support from our customers and the rest of the community. We encourage everyone to be kind and reach out to those that are different from you. When we take the time to learn from each other, we are actively creating a more compassionate and loving society."

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