A 54-year-old woman was arrested for a hate crime this week after she allegedly rammed two gates at a Los Angeles-area synagogue with her car.
Tikvah Mottahedeh was taken into custody early Thursday morning on a felony charge, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department records show.
Mottahedeh was booked into the Van Nuys Jail on $25,000 bail. She was charged with a hate crime and vandalism, according to FOX 11.
A woman was arrested for a hate crime this week after allegedly crashing her car into the gates of Eretz Synagogue Cultural Center in Tarzana, Calif. (Google Maps)
In a statement, the Eretz Synagogue Cultural Center of Tarzana said it believes Mottahedeh’s alleged vandalism wasn’t a hate crime.
“Eretz board members believe, that this action, is not an act of Hate Crime or Anti-Semitic, but merely an act of vandalism. Our community still stands as strong as ever, and will preserve through any moment, especially a moment that is as melancholic as this one,” the synagogue said.
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The statement added, “Our community has endured centuries of trials and tribulations to reach a place in a society where we are able to practice our religion freely, openly, and lovingly. Fellow members of the Iranian American Jewish Community, we have continuously seen inhumane acts of anti-Semitism. Acts which attempt to harm us based upon our religious beliefs and customs; however, as history will continue to show, our beliefs and practices can never be immobilized.”
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Last weekend, a 69-year-old Jewish man died of head injuries after a fight broke out at pro-Israel demonstration in Los Angeles amid heightened tensions over the war in Gaza.
Eretz said police are continuing to investigate and have been provided with surveillance footage from cameras on the property.
