Rabbi Andy Rosenkranz walked along the sidewalk, looking at the windows of an abandoned restaurant. “Whoever did this ought to be ashamed of themselves,” he said. “It’s a cowardly act. Absolute cowardice.”

Rosenkranz is referring to what had been found drawn on the windows Wednesday morning: swastikas.

“The Jewish community in particular, when you see a swastika, not one, not two, not three, four or five of them, it just makes you shiver,” Rosenkranz said.

The swastikas were drawn in the dirt covering the windows of the now closed Romeo’s restaurant on Wellington Trace, just down the street from Rosenkranz’s synagogue, Temple Beth Torah.

Along with the swastikas, someone had also drawn pornographic images, homophobic slurs, and political writing.

Rosenkranz said he knows there’s no way to tell the motive of whomever drew the swastikas, but he said he’s not sure if it matters. “This is hatred in our community,” he said. “This is antisemitism. There is a lump in my throat now as I speak to you,” Rosenkranz said.

Rosenkranz contacted the property manager who had the windows immediately cleaned. But as he checked the windows, Rosenkranz found two swastikas that had been missed.

He immediately grabbed a cloth and wiped them off himself, wishing it was only that easy to erase the hatred.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said they are investigating the incident, but since the building is not a religious institution and the building was not damaged, it may not rise to the level of a crime.