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Police investigate swastika scrawled on sign at Florida retirement community

Century Village in Boca Raton is home to a large Jewish population.

Century Village in Boca Raton, Fla. Source: Screenshot.
Century Village in Boca Raton, Fla. Source: Screenshot.

Police in Boca Raton, Fla., are investigating a swastika painted on a building in a gated, 55-plus retirement community on Feb. 24.

Someone used a marker to draw a swastika on a piece of glass covering a residents’ directory in a building in Century Village, according to Terri Barbera, a spokeswoman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.

Next to the swastika was an arrow pointing to the name of the building where the Homeowner’s Association (HOA) president resides, said Barbera. The HOA president is not Jewish.

“There were no witnesses and no cameras in the area,” she added, noting that the swastika has since been removed.

Century Village in Boca Raton has an Orthodox Jewish population that has experienced significant growth in the last decade, many having moved there from states to the north. Congregation Torah Ohr, the Orthodox synagogue in the development and one of two synagogues on the property, recently expanded to accommodate the communal growth.

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