Over a two-day period in February, Wisconsin had nearly as many anti-Semitic attacks as it did in all of 2014.
There were 39 reported incidents of vandalism over the Valentines Day weekend in Madison alone, Madison Police Department spokesperson Joel DeSpain tells the Badger Herald. The graffiti included “images of a swastika, genitalia and derogatory phrases.”

By comparison, there were 30 such attacks throughout the entire state in 2014, according to a new analysis by the Milwaukee Jewish Federation. That was double the reports from 2013.
“Any time there is vandalism, that has a swastika or a reference against Jewish people, it’s scary and it’s disturbing,” Dina Weinbach, executive director of Jewish Federation of Madison, says. “People will react based on those feelings.”
Elana Kahn-Oren, spokesperson for Milwaukee Jewish Federation says the community feels “targeted.”
“Every 5 to 10 years we get this kind of racist or anti-Semitic outburst in the city of Madison,” according to Paul Soglin, mayor of the progressive city.
“It’s critical that the response be firm and clear, otherwise this kind of hatred could escalate and grow, leading to even more acts of violence against persons,” he says. ”It is also important to educate the perpetrators in hopes that their lives can be changed so that they are not driven by hatred.”
Channel 3000 reports in addition to the swastikas, vandals painted “F*ck Jews” on a home’s garage door.
“If we could figure out why hatred is on the increase, we would be Noble Prize winners, and there isn’t an easy answer to it, and I certainly don’t know it,” Hannah Rosenthal, CEO of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, tells the news station.
“We keep exposing it, we keep making the public talk about it, and I think we condemn all forms of hatred consistently, clearly, and regularly.”
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