Less than a week after swastikas were sprayed on gravestones at a Jewish cemetery in Victoria, a similar anti-Semitic symbol appeared in Oak Bay.
The vandalism was discovered in the skate park at the Oak Bay Recreation Centre on Jan. 4, the same day Jewish leaders announced a vigil would be held to protest the desecration of gravestones in the historical Emanu-El cemetery. That the symbol appeared in Oak Bay the same day the vigil was announced may not be coincidental, said Oak Bay police Deputy Chief Kent Thom.
“When people are saying we’re not going to put up with this (and) there’s going to be zero tolerance, sometimes that prompts certain people to go out and do it all over again,” he said.