LAPD investigates pro-Gaza graffiti at Cantor’s Deli as hate crime

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Police Department was continuing its investigation Thursday into a graffiti incident at Canter’s Deli in the Fairfax District classified by authorities as a hate crime.

Officers went to the 400 block of North Fairfax Avenue, at Oakwood Avenue, about 10:40 a.m. Wednesday, according to the LAPD. No arrests were reported.

No description was available of a suspect or suspects, police said. Anyone with information on the crime was urged to call police at 213-473-0476.

According to video from the scene, messages were sprayed that showed three different areas beneath a mural depicting Jewish history in L.A. defaced with phrases that read, “Israels only religion is capitalism,” “How many dead in the name of greed?” and “Free Gaza.”

Cantor’s Deli, Los Angeles pic.twitter.com/bmzXt3pq1J

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Across from the deli, at the Chabad-Atara’ Judaica, “Free Gaza” was seen tagged on plywood all the way down Fairfax.

“It’s abhorrent,” Dr. Martha Johnson, a Canter’s patron, said in a remark quoted by KTLA. “It’s just unacceptable. It’s just hideous, we can’t live like that. It’s such a great place to eat. It makes me sad. There’s so much hate in the country. We can’t live with this level of hate.”

The California chapter of the Anti-Defamation League posted a statement to X from ADL’s L.A. Regional Director Jeffrey Abrams that read:

“Vandalizing and targeting synagogues, Jewish neighborhoods and a mural about local Jewish history on the wall of the iconic Canter’s Deli on Fairfax (Avenue) is heinous and antisemitic. The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating these incidents as hate crimes. If anyone has information that will help ensure the people who committed this crime are brought to justice, please contact law enforcement.”

One of the oldest delis in California, Canters is a third-generation family-run business.

Source: Orange County Register