{"id":17283,"date":"2026-07-26T00:48:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T19:48:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=17283"},"modified":"2026-07-26T00:48:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T19:48:53","slug":"pasadena-temple-mural-vandalized-with-swastikas-antisemitic-graffiti","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=17283","title":{"rendered":"Pasadena temple mural vandalized with swastikas, antisemitic graffiti"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ca-times.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/20312a2\/2147483647\/strip\/false\/crop\/5647x3738+0+0\/resize\/1500x993!\/quality\/75\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F14%2F9a%2F0a70da1d444bb25cfe470cf36296%2F1491088-me-0116-pasadena-temple-mural-wjs01.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div data-element=\"story-body\" data-subscriber-content=\"\">\n<p>Authorities are investigating a hate crime after a beloved Pasadena mural was vandalized this week with an antisemitic message and swastikas.<\/p>\n<p>The incident took place Friday on the 1400 block of North Altadena Drive in the unincorporated area of Pasadena, according to the Altadena Sheriff\u2019s  Station. It was unclear to investigators how many suspects were involved. <\/p>\n<p>The mural,  featuring a large bright orange poppy flower, was \u201ca symbol of hope, resilience and solidarity,\u201d according to the Pasadena Jewish Temple &amp; Center, who called for the mural\u2019s restoration following the devastating <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2025-09-25\/the-eaton-fire-how-the-system-failed-altadena\"><u>2025 Eaton fire<\/u><\/a> that burned more than 9,000 structures and left 19 dead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe mural was brought to life through the vision and generosity of many,\u201d the temple said in <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watch\/?v=1515571700048432\" target=\"_blank\"><u>a <\/u><u>Facebook <\/u><u>post<\/u><\/a>. \u201cWe are deeply saddened and outraged by this act, but we refuse to let it define our community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The synagogue has been operating off-site for more than a year, <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pjtc.net\/faqs\" target=\"_blank\"><u>according to its website.<\/u><\/a> The more than 100-year-old temple was  reduced to rubble  in the fire. Founded in 1921 as Temple B\u2019nai Israel of Pasadena, it served as  <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/lifestyle\/story\/2025-01-08\/pasadena-jewish-temple-burned-eaton-fire\"><u>a haven for Jews<\/u><\/a>, who, among other minority ethnic groups, were prohibited from buying property in Pasadena and surrounding areas due to <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/gamblehou\" target=\"_blank\"><u>exclusionary covenants<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In 1941, the temple moved to its current location on Altadena Drive. The synagogue changed  its  name in 1949. Kristine Garroway, a longtime member with an archeological background,  <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2025-01-18\/from-the-ashes-of-a-pasadena-synagogue-a-powerful-discovery-is-made\">told The Times<\/a> last year that the previous mural dated to the 1920s, although its true origin remains unknown.<\/p>\n<p>The modern-day mural artwork by <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment-arts\/story\/2024-08-26\/hollywood-workers-production-designers-set-decorators-slowdown\"><u>scenic painter Miriam Hellmann<\/u><\/a> read: \u201c<a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DYZ5Uq_j67u\/?img_index=1\" target=\"_blank\"><u>We are all responsible for each other<\/u><\/a>.\u201d The temple said it is working with investigators and is looking to restore the mural. It is not clear if Hellmann will rejoin the project.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCrimes motivated by hate have no place in our community,\u201d Altadena Sheriff\u2019s Station Captain Ethan Marquez said in a statement Friday. \u201cWe are committed to conducting a thorough investigation, holding those responsible accountable and standing with our Jewish community, all faith communities and every resident against all forms of hatred and intolerance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was unclear if the synagogue had cameras installed facing the vandalized mural. The temple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Anyone with information can contact the Altadena Sheriff\u2019s Station at (626) 798-1131. Those  who wish to remain anonymous can provide information through Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-222-8477 or by <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lacrimestoppers.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">submitting a tip online<\/a>. The  detective in charge of this case can be contacted at <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-07-25\/mailto:hhdoherty@lasd.org\" target=\"_blank\"><u>hhdohert<\/u><u>@lasd.org<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Authorities are investigating a hate crime after a beloved Pasadena mural was vandalized this week with an antisemitic message and swastikas. The incident took place Friday on the 1400 block of North Altadena Drive in the unincorporated area of Pasadena, according to the Altadena Sheriff\u2019s Station. It was unclear to investigators how many suspects were&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17284,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/ca-times.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/4a5788f\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/5647x2965+0+387\/resize\/1200x630!\/quality\/75\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F14%2F9a%2F0a70da1d444bb25cfe470cf36296%2F1491088-me-0116-pasadena-temple-mural-wjs01.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}