Another Hate-Crime Hoax. Jew Behind Anti-Jewish Vandalism

Weapons Trove Suspect Is Linked to Hate Crimes
By FERNANDA SANTOS & KAREEM FAHIM
The New York Times Tuesday, 22 January 2008

NEW YORK — It all happened in less than three hours on a cool
September night — a prolific spurt of anti-Jewish vandalism at
more than a dozen locations in the heart of Brooklyn Heights.

On Monday, the police caught a break, arresting a man who they
said had a trove of weapons inside a stately apartment building
in the neighborhood. The man, Ivaylo Ivanov, admitted under
videotaped questioning that he was behind the spree, which had
mystified investigators for months, the police said.

And later Monday evening, after Mr. Ivanov’s arraignment in
Brooklyn Criminal Court, his lawyer surprised reporters with his
own announcement: Mr. Ivanov is himself Jewish.

The revelation was the latest twist in a bizarre story that features
a man who, police said, shot his own finger; a sizable weapons
collection, including pipe bombs and a sawed-off shotgun, found
in an apartment in one of Brooklyn’s most exclusive neighborhoods;
and a prominent HIV/AIDS researcher and medical anthropologist,
who owns the apartment.

The hate crimes had unsettled local residents, many of whom awoke
on the morning of Sept. 25 to find Swastikas and other slurs scratched,
scrawled and spray-painted on cars, playgrounds, synagogues and
building facades. Crude fliers reading “Kill All Jews” were strewn about.