TRR photo by Krista Gromalski Tri-State Unity Coalition members, front to back, Laurie and Bob Veneziale and Naomi Kolberg scrub anti-Semitic graffiti from the wall of the handball court. (Click for larger image)

Vandals hit Hasidic camp following graffiti cleanup

By KRISTA GROMALSKI

DELAWARE TOWNSHIP — Armed with a few cans of “Goof Off” and some towels, volunteers from the Tri-State Unity Coalition on June 3 applied their elbow grease to the anti-Semitic graffiti painted at Camp Mestivah Eitz Chaim last fall. Hours after the clean-up, vandals struck again.

Camp Mestivah Eitz Chaim, an Hasidic summer camp, is located on Silver Lake Road in Pike County.

Unity Coalition chairperson Rosanne La Russo Kolberg said camp caretaker Louis Sanchez notified her on the morning of June 4 that a member of his crew discovered a camp van, had been broken into. “The windows had been smashed and some plumbing tools were also stolen,” Kolberg said.

Speculating that the vandals must have entered the gate in the middle of the night, Sanchez said, “They broke into the camp, cut the locks and took two vehicles, a small pick-up truck and a van.”

From the appearance of the grass, one vehicle had been following the other, Sanchez said. “They rode all over the lawns… and destroyed the van.”

According to Sanchez, after the joy ride the vandals repeatedly crashed the van into a telephone pole on camp property.

In addition, $500 to $600 worth of plumbing tools were stolen from the vehicle. “They stole stuff they probably don’t know how to use,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez reported the incident to the Pennsylvania State Police at Blooming Grove. Responding officer Charles Gleichman said he processed the camp-owned vehicles for fingerprints.

Sanchez said there was no graffiti found in this incident, but it appeared to him that the camp had also been broken into on the night of June 2.

Sanchez also said the vandalism could be triggered by the camp’s Hasidic status. “[The vandals] don’t go on anyone else’s property in the area,” he said. “It’s an Hasidic camp… It’s because of who they are. They’re an easy target.”

“We’re not considering this a hate crime,” Gleichman said. “It’s a shame that this happened after [the coalition] was trying to right a wrong.”

This is not the first season that the camp experienced vandalism, said Rabbi Nussam Blumberg. “We live with it.” The camp has been at its location for 18 years, and the vandalism has been happening for at least the past five years, according to Blumberg.

Given the remote location of the camp and the repeated offenses, Kolber said she is “convinced” the vandalism was done by youths. “The place is open to them,” she said.

Sanchez said because of the “joyriding” he also thinks “it’s kids.”

Blumberg said if it is young adults, “They certainly have an opinion and they express it often.”

Sanchez said he has spoken to camp officials about hiring a guard. “A few years ago, a local person stayed at the camp [during the winter], but it wasn’t working out,” he said.

During this past winter, 24 windows were smashed at the camp. “It looked like some one had walked through with a stick or had thrown rocks through them,” Sanchez said. The camp is considering keeping a guard dog at the gate, according to Blumberg.

He maintains hope, however, that the coalition’s efforts can raise people’s awareness. “Once people become aware, some will ask questions,” he said. “That may stop the chain.”

If weather permits, the Tri-State Unity Coalition will meet at the camp on June 10 to continue its cleanup efforts. Kolberg can be reached at 570/686-4065.