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Second Swastika in 2 Weeks Found in New Jersey School

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A swastika found etched into a classroom wall at Glen Rock High School Thursday marked the second discovered in a borough school in the past two weeks. 

The other swastika was found May 28 drawn on a wall in a bathroom shared by the middle school and high school. It was the size of a half-dollar, district officials said. 

A teacher found the latest swastika at about 12:30 p.m. Thursday in the high school. Officers came to the school to take pictures of it and will continue to investigate, but had minimal evidence to go on, police said. 

"The Glen Rock Public School denounces the use of this symbol, no matter the size, as it symbolizes genocide, intolerance and hate," interim Superintendent of Schools Bruce Watson said in a statement sent to parents and posted to the district's Facebook page. 

District officials are searching the buildings for any undiscovered graffiti, police said.

Speaking on behalf of the whole council, Mayor Bruce Packer on Wednesday also condemned the symbol found in the school bathroom.  

"In the wake of this incident, we urge our community to come together," the statement read, "for us all to speak with our children and our neighbors; to discuss the impact of our words and actions on others, whether or not the intent is malicious."

study by the Anti-Defamation League released in late April lists New Jersey as the state with the third highest total of anti-Semitic incidents in 2018 with 200. Only California and New York had more. It included instances of harassment, vandalism and assault.

New Jersey, though, had a 4 percent drop in incidents from 2017 to 2018, the study states.  

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