The Beverly Hills Human Relations Commission met on Jan. 21, reviewing key findings from the 2019 Los Angeles County hate crimes report. The meeting came during a week marked by vandalism at Wilshire Boulevard Temple. Spray painted graffiti was discovered outside the Koreatown synagogue on Jan. 18, prompting the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) to open a hate crime investigation. Police said surveillance video showed an unidentified male in a hooded sweatshirt spray-painting the outside of the building with graffiti. KTLA5 reported that the vandal wrote the words “I hate your race” on the wall, with exclamation points punctuated with crosses.
A religious leader with national influence–as well as the Senior Rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard–Steve Leder appeared in the Courier’s Jan. 8 and Jan.15 issues for a two-part interview.
