Reward Offered For Information On Synagogue Vandalism

LAKEWOOD, NJ — A $500 reward has been posted for information about the person or people responsible for anti-Semitic graffiti that was spraypainted on a synagogue and its Holocaust memorial last weekend.

The Jewish War Veterans of Ocean County have posted the reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the vandals who spraypainted a swastika on a pickup truck and a "666" on the monument at the Congregation Sons of Israel on Madison Avenue on March 24, said Detective Lt. Gregory Staffordsmith said.

Lakewood police also are asking for anyone who may have captured the vandalism or any suspicious activity in the area on video from the evening of March 23 through the early hours of March 24 to contact them.

"Anyone with information or video is urged to contact Det. Michael Cavallo at 732-363-0200, ext. 5317," Staffordsmith said.

The anti-Semitic vandalism was the second attack on the synagogue in the last year. In June 2017, a sheet with anti-Semitic saying and symbols and reverences to a white nationalist website was draped over the Holocaust memorial monument on the grounds of the synagogue.

The state Attorney General's office tweeted last year that there is a state reward for bias crime information that leads to a conviction. That figure is now $25,000, according to the state bias crime reporting website. Click here for more information.

Photo by The Lakewood Scoop, published with permission