PORTLAND, Oregon — For the second time in just a few weeks, antisemitic graffiti has been found at a Portland park. Photos submitted by a KGW viewer showed swastikas and antisemitic phrases spray-painted on skate park ramps and other buildings at Laurelhurst Park in southeast Portland.
"This is something that people are living with every day, and it can be very harmful to see those symbols in their own city," said Jessica Anderson, Community Service Director at the Jewish Federation of Portland.
Laurelhurst Park has a checkered history dating back to the 1980s when it was connected with white nationalist groups in east Portland, explained Dr. Randall Blazak, Chair of the Oregon Coalition Against Hate Crimes. The recent antisemitic messaging found in the park seems to stem from multiple sources, he added.
"Some of it has been unfortunately connected to the protest movement around Gaza," he said. "Some of it is just an increase in the amount of hate rhetoric online that is bleeding into the streets."
Antisemitism around the United States has risen in the past year, Blazak added, and pointed to the upcoming election as an example of events that can spark incidents like this.
"The word fascism is being thrown around a lot right now, discussions about Hitler," he said. "There is a lot of anxiety, and some of it is connected to this symbol."
Anderson said members of Portland’s Jewish community are often finding themselves questioning whether or not it's safe to wear jewelry or other items that would identify them as being Jewish.
"People feel concerned about wearing any kind of Jewish ornamentation, that it might signal to someone that they are Jewish. In this day and age it can be nerve wracking to not know how someone might respond," she said.