The owners of a West Seattle business say someone painted swastikas in front of their store, and they believe they were targeted because they are Jewish.
“It’s cruel,” said Kristen Wilson, who lives in West Seattle and supports the merchants who anchor the business district known as The Junction.
Sleepers in Seattle has been one of those businesses for 25 years, and the owners got a horrible surprise Tuesday morning when they found several swastikas painted on the sidewalk in front of their business.
“I know it hurts the hearts of others. It’s completely unacceptable,” Wilson said of the graffiti.
The swastikas drawn on the sidewalk in front of the store are backwards, but that doesn’t change the disturbing message.
Max Alcabes’ parents own the store.
“We’re the only Jewish business on the street, so it feels targeted. It feels real ugly and it’s kind of a sick feeling,” he said.
The family feels they were targeted because the same thing happened last October.
“Now being the second time it just doesn’t feel random, ” Alcabes said.
Other business owners on California Avenue SW say it’s wrong and that they might as well have targeted everyone on this street because the owners are like family. That includes Thao Coontz, who stands with the Alcabes family.
“I think it’s wrong to target them specifically because they’re Jewish, and I think, knock it off,” Coontz said.
Even though the chances may be slim, Alcabes hopes the vandal gets caught, if only to find out why.
“My guess is he’s either sick or stupid more than evil, you know. Why would somebody do this? You have to have a reason,” he said.