One of them, Nathan Symington, accused police of a “witch-hunt”.
“This is a wanton act of antisemitic vandalism”
The attack drew a chorus of condemnation from Jewish officials, Israel’s ambassador and interfaith leaders. “This is a wanton act of antisemitic vandalism,” said New Zealand Jewish Council president Stephen Goodman. “The prosecution of the perpetrators will, hopefully, send the message that this type of behaviour is totally unacceptable to all New Zealanders.”
A spokesman for Prime Minister John Key, whose mother escaped Nazism on the eve of the Holocaust, said the vandalism was “appalling”.