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Swastika carved into back of autistic Jewish teen

The FBI is investigating the alleged crime against a 17-year-old in Nevada.

A photograph of the swastika on the Snoldelev stone in the National Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
A photograph of the swastika on the Snoldelev stone in the National Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

A kippah-wearing, nonverbal boy who attends Clark High School in Las Vegas with a service dog and full-time assistant, returned home March 9 with a swastika carved into his back, his mother told The Jewish Press. The school is deflecting responsibility.

The school does not have video cameras that could have recorded the incident. As per the mother’s request, reports don’t name the boy. There was also damage to the service dog’s bag, and the assistant claimed that the boy had a “good day” and that nothing happened. The teen has since been removed from the school.

An Anti-Defamation League Twitter account encouraged those with information to contact the FBI.

“Not only was this student targeted for his identifiable faith, but he was particularly vulnerable due to his disability,” stated the ADL. “This incident illustrates points of intersectionality in how hate can show itself across marginalized communities.”With antisemitism on the rise, Nevada is among the states that have seen a decrease—from 36 incidents in 2021 to 30 in 2022. According to the ADL, the only antisemitic assault in the state to occur between 2018 and 2022 came in 2020.

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