More than 20 Cars Vandalized near NE Miami Dade Synagogues

NORTHEAST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. – Some car owners said they may have been targeted because of their religious beliefs after they found as many as 23 vehicles vandalized near three synagogues in Northeast Miami-Dade, Saturday morning.

The next day, victim Jennifer Lehrfeld showed 7News the damage to her vehicle. “There’s a lot of glass inside the door,” she said as she opened the passenger side door.

Moments later, the sound of glass rang out as Lehrfeld closed the door. “That’s like impossible to get out,” she said. “Even the cost of replacing the glass is not such a big deal, but they’ve got to take the whole door apart.”

Shattered glass remained scattered near the intersection of Northeast 10th Avenue and 172nd Street, an area that borders North Miami Beach. “Late Friday night or early Saturday morning, when we came to temple in the morning, we walked, and we noticed that almost all the cars that are parked before the temples, from 171st to 176th [streets], had been smashed in,” said Lehrfeld.

Her father-in-law, the rabbi at Young Israel of Greater Miami, said the person or people responsible for the vandalism likely knew the vehicles would remain parked during the Sabbath. “I know that people park their cars for a period of over 24 hours, and that’s why they may have actually targeted our community,” said Rabbi David Lehrfeld.

The incident took place in an area where many synagogues are located. Observant Jews do not drive on the Sabbath, and the majority of the vehicles that were targeted were parked outside of synagogues.

Rabbi Lehrfeld told 7News at least 15 of the cars vandalized were parked outside of Young Israel. “They went all the way down the block,” he said.

When asked if he’d ever seen anything like this, Rabbi Lehrfeld replied, “Never before. There happens to be three synagogues in the area.”

People walking out of the house of worship saw car after car with at least one of their windows broken. “My rear driver window was smashed in, glass everywhere,” said Josh Fox.

“They completely trashed our cars,” said Abigail Mordechai.

In many of the cases, however, nothing was taken, just peace of mind.

It does not appear that surveillance video captured the perpetrators, but area residents are hoping that they’re caught. “They’re hoping and they’re praying that the Good Lord is watching over them,” said Rabbi Lehrfeld, “and for this to happen to them, it doesn’t shake their faith, obviously not, but it’s certainly a blow to their inward compassion.”

Miami-Dade Police and North Miami Beach Police are investigating. They will continue to review surveillance video from nearby properties.

If you have any information that could help investigators, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.

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