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FBI joins investigation of Parkland synagogue vandalism

No link found between Parkland graffiti, South Beach fire

By Lisa J. Huriash | South Florida Sun-Sentinel

10:06 PM EDT, May 6, 2008

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The FBI is investigating last week's vandalism at the Chabad of Parkland synagogue, law enforcement officials said Tuesday.

Three spray-painted swastikas and "4 Hitler" were discovered on the building at 7170 Loxahatchee Road and a nearby stop sign the morning of April 30.

Alesia Russell, a spokeswoman for the Broward Sheriff's Office, confirmed the agency is working with the FBI. She declined to say whether they have any leads.

After FBI agents visited the Parkland temple Tuesday, Rabbi Yosef Biston said he had been assured "they will do everything to get to the bottom of this, whatever is in their power."

A local graffiti company immediately removed most of the offensive symbols and the synagogue's schoolchildren painted over the rest.

"It was a good lesson for the children, to learn how not to hate," Biston said.

A Coconut Creek chiropractic office is hosting an event Thursday to try to raise the thousands of dollars the synagogue will need for better lighting, security cameras and a fence.

FBI agents plan to meet later this week with Miami Beach police investigators who are trying to determine how the Chabad Lubavitch synagogue on South Beach caught fire and burned to the ground April 22.

"There is no evidence of a hate crime whatsoever at the synagogue fire," police spokesman Detective Juan Sanchez said Tuesday.

Miami Beach Fire Department Division Chief Javier Otero said the investigation is ongoing.

"We don't have the results of all the testing that we did, so there's no change yet," he said.

Sanchez said there is no evidence to connect the incidents at the Chabad Lubavitch synagogues in Miami Beach and Parkland. The Hasidic, orthodox Jewish denomination has other synagogues throughout the region, including in Coconut Creek, Plantation, Coral Springs and Weston.

Both incidents occurred during or just before significant dates in the Jewish calendar. The Miami Beach synagogue burned down during Passover. Vandals struck in Parkland just before Yom Hashoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day.