San Diego police are looking into a threatening tag scrawled on a sign announcing the future site of the UC San Diego Hillel Jewish Student Center.
The sign is located at La Jolla Village Drive and North Torrey Pines Road.
Hillel Center Executive Director Rabbi David Singer was alerted to the foul graffiti early Monday morning and did his best to wash it off.
While the scribbling is no longer legible, the message he sees is very clear.
"I was disappointed, I was sad. I grew up here in La Jolla I don't want to see that graffiti on any institution," Rabbi Singer said.
Rabbi David Singer says the Glickman Hillel Center will soon break ground after fighting decades of lawsuits from those who would prefer it not built here.
It may not be easy to decipher the taggers intentions. Is it because it's a Jewish student center or just because it's new construction on an already busy corner?
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"No one in this neighborhood that I know was opposed to Hillel because it was Hillel," neighbor Paul Dostart said.
Paul and Joyce Dostart are friends of the Rabbi. They live in the neighborhood and support the center.
"I think it is some bad person who doesn't live in the neighborhood," Joyce Dostart said.
Rabbi Singer says he reported the tag to police and the anti-defamation league. While it is threatening in its nature, David is not afraid nor does he consider the sight unsafe or insecure.
"This is someone who has hate. Hillel is an organization which builds love," Rabbi Singer said.
The fundraising and construction will continue as planned. Rabbi Singer says The Hillel Center may be the very remedy for such behavior.
"We need to build spaces in which more people can come together. In which people can learn from each other, grow together, build community, that's what Hillel's about," Rabbi Singer said.
Police told NBC 7 they are looking into the complaint but aren't identifying it as a hate crime. Rabbi Singer says there have been no other recent tags, threatening calls or communication directed at the Hillel Center.
