Kinnelon Council: Swastika Incident 'Unacceptable'

Thursday's workshop meeting had standing room only as Louise Soloman and her son, Max, spoke to the Kinnelon Council about the swastika that was written on their property last week.

"I saw a swastika, '666,' and 'Jews' with a circle painted on the road directly outside my house," Max Soloman said. "A couple of years ago, someone scratched the hood of my van."

He said the police told him to spray paint over it. 

"I felt horribly offended, and now there are giant spray paint marks on the road," he said. 

Louise Soloman said the officer suggested that the incident was "just a prank" by juveniles, but she doesn't agree. Similar incidents have occurred recently and in the past, and the discriminatory implications of the acts concern her. 

"In this environment of bullying and intimidation, we need to act swiftly," Soloman said. "This is a teachable moment. I'm not giving solutions, I'm giving suggestions." 

Soloman made reference to a movie called "Paper Clips," as a possible teaching tool for kids, and handed out packets to the council containing emails she has received. 

"We have a problem here," she said. "We have a problem nationally."

Mayor Robert Collins said the police chief is conducting an ongoing investigation to see if this is a bias crime. 

"This is Kinnelon. This is unacceptable," he said, and made reference to an antibullying ordinance the council recently adopted.

"I agree with your statement about a 'teachable moment.' I hope this is an isolated incident," Collins said. "We're invested that this is not tolerated in this community. I appreciate your coming forward, and I hope we have something good coming out of something bad." 

Soloman pointed out that perhaps the children don't really know what a swastika means. "I'd like to suggest a family project that they can learn about the Holocaust," she said. 

The mayor said the council was going to work hard, and reach out to the schools as well.