HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Homestead police are searching for a man who is accused of multiple crimes, including hanging an anti-Semitic banner on a fence outside the Homestead Jewish Center.
According to police, the man is first accused of trying to break into the Sheepdog Police Supply Store at 220 N. Krome Ave. at 4:44 a.m. May 9.
Police said between midnight and 8 a.m. on Aug. 22 he also vandalized the exterior of ShowBiz Cinemas, which is located at 100 S. Krome Ave.
Detectives believe the same man is the person who hung an anti-Semitic banner that read, “THE GOYIM KNOW 88″ outside the Homestead Jewish Center at 183 NE Eighth St. shortly after 4:30 a.m. on Saturday, ahead of the first day of Hanukkah.
Goy, or goyim in its plural form, is a Yiddish word for a gentile, or non-Jewish person.
The Greater Miami Jewish Federation and the Anti-Defamation League released a statement on Monday saying the banner used shorthand references to neo-Nazi, white supremacist and alt-right ideals.
“Hate crimes may target individuals or single institutions, but are generally done to send a message of fear and intimidation to entire communities – and so entire communities must denounce these insidious acts,” Sarah Emmons,the regional director of ADL Florida, said in a statement.
Anyone with information about the man’s identity is asked to contact Detective David Mata at David.Mata@homesteadpolice.com or 305-224-543, or Detective Dwayne Ireland at Dwayne.Ireland@homesteadpolice.com or 305-224-5441.