Federal authorities have charged two people with hate crime-related offenses in connection with antisemitic graffiti incidents at Jewish institutions in Squirrel Hill earlier this year.
Mohamad Hamad, 23, of Coraopolis, and Talya A. Lubit, 24, of Oakland, are charged with conspiracy and defacing or damaging religious property, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday.
Investigators said Mr. Hamad was a member of the maintenance squad of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard’s 171st Air Refueling Wing stationed in Moon until he was barred from the facility in mid-September.
The graffiti appeared overnight July 28 into July 29.
“Jews 4 Palestine” was spray-painted on a wall at Chabad of Squirrel Hill accompanied by an inverted red triangle, which investigators described as a pro-Hamas symbol that has become widely used in pro-Palestinian protests.
A few miles away, a sign outside the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh was defaced to read that the organization “funds genocide.”
“Defacing religious property is not protected speech — it is a crime,” U.S. Attorney Eric Olshan said in a statement. “Members of our communities should be able to practice their faith without fear of being targeted for their religious affiliation, including, as alleged here, with a symbol associated with a terrorist organization.”
Investigators said a dark-colored convertible sedan was captured on security cameras near Chabad of Squirrel Hill and the Jewish Federation. The same vehicle was seen at a Walmart in Robinson where, according to the complaint, security footage captured Mr. Hamad buying a can of Rust-Oleum brand “Strawberry Fields” red spray paint the day before the buildings were vandalized.
Mr. Hamad used his debit card to buy the spray paint, investigators said, and a relative identified him on security footage from inside the store. A search of Mr. Hamad’s home in August turned up a can of the “Strawberry Fields” spray paint, authorities said.
According to the complaint, Mr. Hamad’s Google Maps history at the time included terms such as “Chabad,” “Chabad of Squirrel Hill,” “Chabad Young Professionals Pittsburgh,” “Chabad Young,” “Chabad Lubavitch of Western Pennsylvania,” and Ms. Lubit’s address.
Messages that investigators allege Ms. Lubit sent to Mr. Hamad using the Signal app indicate she was initially hesitant to participate in the vandalism. She is Jewish, according to the text messages.
“If I join you in doing graffiti on this building it matters to me that it is done in good taste,” she wrote in part on July 27, two days before the graffiti appeared on the buildings.
She later wrote: “trying to make it ugly and abnoxious [sic] feels like borderline desecration of religious place … Like right before the line.”
Investigators said Mr. Hamad’s side of the lengthy exchange was wiped from his phone.
Later in the same conversation, Ms. Lubit allegedly wrote: “I can literally feel myself starting to see Jews as my enemies” and “This feels kinda like a last ditch attempt at staying Jewish.”
A day later, in messages sent to a group chat on Signal, an account alleged to belong to Ms. Lubit sent a message reading “Facts” with an image of an Israeli flag with a Swastika on it.
Investigators said Ms. Lubit performed a factory reset of her phone the day after authorities seized Mr. Hamad’s phone and vehicles.
The arrests come as the Israel-Hamas war enters its second year.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel in a surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023. They killed about 1,200 people and abducted about 250 others. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, about a third of whom are believed to be dead, according to the Associated Press.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says more than half of those killed were women and children, the AP reported this week.
Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
First Published: October 30, 2024, 8:11 p.m.
Updated: October 31, 2024, 12:22 p.m.
