The idiot(s) that painted the symbols apparently does not know what an "S" looks like. Those aren't swastikas. They're symbols of wealth, prosperity, Buddhist temples, etc.

if those are teenagers playing a prank they better get what's coming to them. and if it's a hate crime what did the jews ever do to them? being jewish isn't a crime! :(

After hearing this story, I felt obligated to comment. My mom was Jewish (she was killed when i was 6, in a car accident driving me home from school). My mom's side of the family is Jewish, my dad's side, including myself, is Christian. Although I do not understand or believe in most of what Judaism is about or teaches, I think it is absolutely disgraceful that people could do such a thing. Most everyone knows that what makes our country so amazing and sets us apart from the rest of the world is our complete diversity; our acceptance of all religions, ethnicities backgrounds etc. It is unfathomable that someone/people can be so cruel. I was watching Mrs. Berenshtein on the 10 o'clock news and my heart just went out to her. There is no justification for an act like this. As a Christian Catholic, I do not believe that this was motivated by clashes of beliefs but rather some persons' sick kind of a joke (not expecting the victims to consider it funny obviously). Pranks such as these are just pure hatred fed. People who can even consider committing hate crimes such as this should be treated for mental instability. It is clear that these offenders have problems with self security and confidence. They use innocent victims to build themselves up, but when it really comes down to it in the end, they are left as lonely. I hope the responsible people for this act of hatred can someday find peace and reflect and as forgiveness. I pray that the Berenshteins have strength in knowing all of the support they have behind them. I pray that the Berenshteins are rewarded for their outstanding ability to stay calm and sensible. I have so much respect for Mrs. Berenshtein; that she was able to keep her anger inside her. It is just so horrible that something so thoughtless and cruel like this has the potential to scar this family forever. It is bad enough for them living with the holocaust in their past, but to bring signs of Neo-Nazism into this time period must evoke so much fear, I can not even imagine. I hope the Berenshteins will not think of this act as representing the current common thought towards the Jewish religion. After 50+ years, our nation has learned and moved on. These people who committed this crime are disrespecting the primary core values of our nation, therefore should not represent it.

typo - not "as forgiveness" i meant "ask forgiveness."

Obviously the people or person responsible for this are cowards that they have to hide and don't even have the guts to come forward and take what's coming to them, i think once they are caught they should be publicly humiliated and made be known that they obviously have mental issues.

I do not understand why the police are not calling this a "hate crime."

The crime of "malicious harassment" is the "hate crime statute" in Washington. http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=9A.36.080

The following acts are presumptive hate crimes-- that is, if someone does this, the law presumes they did it with malicious intent. Note particularly, paragraph (b):

(a) Burns a cross on property of a victim who is or whom the actor perceives to be of African American heritage; or

(b) Defaces property of a victim who is or whom the actor perceives to be of Jewish heritage by defacing the property with a swastika.

The law clearly presumes swastikas defacing a Jew's property is a per se malicious harassment, unless the defendant can convince a jury they did it for some other reason.

Why are we so afraid to label these heinous acts hate crimes?

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Failing to label this a hate crime takes us yet another step closer to forgetting what the Swastika represents-- the systematic murder of over 6 million Jews, just 60 years ago.

I could not believe the police were still in the process of determining if it's a hate crime. Ya think?!!

As much as we would like to believe we are so "PC" in this day and age, the hate crimes still being perpetrated just proves how little we have advanced. The only difference today is that people who are against it have a forum to speak out against it, which is great. As a White woman who has adopted children of color, I find that the most backlash I get for opening my heart and home comes from people of color -- especially women. It breaks my heart when one of my children asks me why someone looked at us in a hateful way. I tell my children that the person just doesn't understand our family. It doesn't surprise me that we are seeing a rise in hate crimes.

I know this family as my wife provided them tutoring in english when the first arrived from Russia. As impoverished legal immigrants who played by the rules and worked hard to establish a life here in the US, they were justifiably proud to be able to move into a "safe" neighborhood in Mill Creek. To see them be victimized by a hate crime after their arduous journey is very sad to see. As the victim said in the TV interview, this type of hate is not taught in school so one must look to the the values being taught in individual familys. The society at large should support the strongest sanctions for the perpetrators when they are found.

This story was about my friend Mira, I feel really bad for her, and the really stupid thing about it was that they did them backwards. She is a really cool girl, I can't even imagine why someone would do that to her or her family.

Can these people not learn the evil of intollerence? Are the horrors of religious hatred displayed in Iraq between different sects not enough to show that we must "Love one another"?

This saddens me as I believe this is no different than burning a cross on a black person's lawn.

I thought our country and our citizens were more educated than this.

I believe the perpetrators should be found and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

I agree this is a hate crime. And if they are this bold to do this once ... who is to say it won't escalate at a later point in time.