In a recent development, Jaifeng Chen, a 27-year-old Chinese national, was apprehended in Arizona on Thursday for allegedly defacing Hanukkah decorations and a wall outside the Chabad of Kalamazoo in Michigan with swastikas.
The arrest was a collaborative effort between the FBI and other law enforcement agencies in Arizona, as reported by the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety. Chen, who was also booked on an unrelated charge on November 27, is now in federal custody.
The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, in a statement to WWMT, disclosed that the investigation into the incidents in Kalamazoo is still underway. Upon completion, the findings will be forwarded to the relevant authority for charges to be filed.
The motivation behind Chen's actions remains unclear, according to the officers. However, he is also suspected of being responsible for other instances of racist graffiti around the Arcadia Commons campus of Kalamazoo Valley Community College.
Kalamazoo Public Safety Chief Dave Boysen revealed the difficulty in identifying Chen due to his lack of ties to Kalamazoo. "Hed only been here for about a month. Hes kind of been all over the country," Boysen stated.
The community swiftly rallied together to clean up the vandalism, which occurred on the night of November 17. Rabbi Haller, in response to the incident, asserted, "We do good things and positive things and in the long-run, the light prevails." He further added, "They're not going to push us away...if anything, they're going to make us stronger."
Dobroshe, Rabbi Haller's wife, expressed gratitude for the outpouring of support in a statement. "We will try to remove the graffiti and pray together for our brothers and sisters in the holy land and for peace everywhere; including here and Kalamazoo," she said.
The incident comes amid a surge in antisemitism in the United States, following the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists. Jewish students at Cornell have been subjected to death threats, while those at New York City's Cooper Union were forced to hide inside lockers from an enraged mob. An Israeli student also faced physical and verbal assault at Harvard, among other instances.
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