AURORA, Colo — An Aurora couple is sending their condolences to Pittsburgh because they know when you take on hate the experience doesn't leave you.
"It changes you in a way where you know that being silent is not going to help anybody," said Sandy Wolf.
Sandy and her husband Howard are troubled by the rising number of anti-Semitic incidents across the country and in Colorado. They were victims of a hate crime in 2017 when someone covered their garage and mailbox with swastikas.
"Sometimes we think it can't happen that close to home and then suddenly it does and we think that it can't happen in a synagogue but it does," said Sandy Wolf.
The couple says what happened to them can't compare to the tragedy in Pittsburgh but they believe the hateful acts are indicative of a dangerous climate in our country.
According to a 2017 report from the Anti-Defamation League, Colorado reported 57 anti-Semitic incidents that year alone. Those numbers represent a 27-percent increase over 2016 and the third straight year of increases, ADL said. The organization said that since 2015, the number of incidents in Colorado has more than tripled.
"We simply cannot allow this to continue and that is our voice," said Sandy Wolf.
Police never caught the person who defaced their home. Howard is reminded of that every time he pulls out of the driveway of the house where he raised his family.
"And it makes you take more notice of what’s going on around you than you did before. I even find myself when I leave for work in the morning I wait until my garage door closes to see if there’s anything on it now. I never used to worry about that," said Howard Wolf.
