Jewish campaigners have called on Sussex Police to find those responsible after a vandal used the cover of darkness to paint swastikas on cars parked in Henfield, Partridge Green and West Grinstead overnight on February 20.
“What is the motive behind using that sort of emblem?” asked electric gate installer Joe Clarke, whose van was affected by the graffiti in Wantley Hill Estate, Henfield.
“Draw a c**k or something on the van instead of a symbol that has caused upset for so many people.
“I know of six vehicles that got sprayed. I was gutted – there was no way I would drive down the M25 with that on the side.”
Police investigating the graffiti have asked anyone with information to come forward.
Jewish safety organisation the Community Security Trust said it recorded 85 per cent more antisemitic incidents across Sussex in the last year.
While the graffiti was cleaned off with some white spirit and a microfibre cloth, the Jewish community in the area is still “extremely upset”.
Communities consultant Fiona Sharpe at the Sussex Jewish Representative Council said: “At a time when the Jewish community is experiencing record high levels of antisemitism, to see swastikas scrawled in walls, cars and vans in Sussex is extremely upsetting.
“The swastika is the symbol of a despotic regime whose stated goal was to rid the world of Jews.
“Its message is clear. Since the brutal Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7 we have seen an increasing amount of Nazi imagery and symbols being displayed on our streets with no sanctions.
“Actions have consequences and if we as a society choose to allow these symbols of hate to be used without any challenge we embolden those with hateful intent. We hope that Sussex Police appreciate the seriousness of this graffiti and do all in their power to find the perpetrators.”