Amber Willard
MEDIA DISTRICT WEST -- Police are looking into who is responsible for
etching a 6-inch swastika into the paint on the back door of a Burbank
health food restaurant.
An employee at Juice Heaven at 345 N. Pass Ave. noticed the marking
Sunday and reported it to Burbank police Monday afternoon, said Lt.
Robert Giles. The vandalism is being considered a hate crime because of
its nature, Giles said.
The store's owner, Sassi Mizrahi, said the incident was not reported
when the marking was discovered because he was out of town. Mizrahi also
reported the vandalism to the Anti-Defamation League, which tracks the
occurrence and location of hate crimes against people who are Jewish, as
well as others who are subjected to bigotry. Mizrahi said he is Jewish.
"People in the area are very nice," said Mizrahi, who has owned the
juice and health snack store for five months. "I never expected anything
like this to happen in Burbank."
"Incidents like this are very rare here," Giles said.
Although he was concerned enough to call police and the
Anti-Defamation League, Mizrahi was able to joke about the incident.
"I can only assume the individual doesn't like juice," he said.
Police were not sure what type of instrument was used to carve the
swastika but did find several shoe prints at the back door. No arrests
have been made and there are no known witnesses, Giles said.
