More than a decade had passed since the last anti-Semitic incident was recorded California's liberal capital city, Sacremento. And then, Israeli basketball player Omri Casspi moved to town to play for the Sacramento Kings.
Over the past six months, a mural of Casspi, located at 18th and Q streets in central Sacramento, has been defaced three times with swastikas. The most recent incident took place last week.
Ten years ago, the city experienced its share of incidents. In 1999, three Reform synagogues in the area were set on fire. Half a year later, two members of the Aryan brotherhood were arrested for those crimes as well as for the killing of a homosexual couple. The two were sentenced to lengthy prison terms and one committed suicide in jail.
But the murals of late have taken both Casspi and Sacramento by surprise.
"During my first year here, I did not encounter any anti-Semitism," Casspi, the first Israeli to play in the NBA, told Haaretz. "Not at home or away games, not on the streets, nowhere. However, I'm not really surprised that this happened. Anti-Semitism exists everywhere. I feel bad and hurt but I'm continuing my preparations as usual for the coming season."
People in Sacramento – a city with a Jewish representative to the California state senate (Darrell Steinberg), a black mayor (former basketball player Kevin Johnson), and a movement for the rights of Japanese residents – were quick to express condemnation after the second defacement incident, which occurred just before Rosh Hashanah.
Steinberg called the act "hateful" and "cowardly" and Johnson said that Sacramento was committed to the fight against intolerance.
A $3,000 prize for information has been offered for information about the crimes. That sum includes contributions from the Anti-Defamation League and Kings co-owner Joe Maloof.
The Casspi family is not satisfied however with the condemnations.
"Within eight days, a vandal was able to come to the exact same place and deface the same mural," they said. "Even if it turns out to be a stupid and bored kid, the proximity is worrying, as is the incompetence of the Sacramento police force. A simple camera would solve the issue."
Sacramento police spokesman Konrad Von Schoech rebutted that charge.
"Who said that we did not install a camera there?" he said. "Maybe we have pictures but the perpetrator was wearing a mask. We certainly attach great importance to the investigation."
An editor at the Sacramento Bee newspaper said that Sacramento is a liberal city that opposes anti-Semitism and racism but an anti-Israel trend has been strengthening there, including demonstrations where Israeli flags have been defaced with swastikas.
A few months ago, swastikas were found on several buildings at the nearby University of California - Davis campus. UC-Davis Judaic studies professor David Biale was not particularly surprised by this.
"The thing about swastikas is that they become a kind of general expression of rage by people whose motives are kind of hard to figure out," Biale said on the Sacramento Kings Bleed Black and Purple blog. "Of course in this particular case we have to assume anti-Semitism because we are talking about a ball player who is Israeli, who is Jewish and it might be some kind of expression of hate toward Israel; it might be an expression of hated of Jews."
"If someone had physically assaulted [Casspi] I would be more shocked right? The painting of a swastika does not shock me greatly, obviously I don’t endorse it, I am disturbed by it, but on the ladder of what shocks, it's not that high up. I am much more disturbed if I go to a political rally of some kind and I see a Star of David and then an equals sign and then a swastika. I mean that to me is extremely disturbing and reflects a kind of an attempt to say the Jews have become as bad as their worst oppressors."
The ADL's regional direcot Daniel Sandman expressed satisfaction with how police have handled the investigation into he defacement of Casspi's mural.
"It's true they don't still don’t have a lead, but I get the impression they are putting all the effort they can into it," he said. I was assured that the police are allocating special resources for the investigation."
Von Schoech said that the investigation was at the top of the police department's secondary priorities - behind murder, rape and robbery cases.
"That's what worries me," said Shimon Casspi, Omri's father. "I want to see results now, not after, heaven forbid, it develops into something far worse."
