Staff and students at a religious Jewish school in Be’er Sheva were horrified to discover Wednesday morning that the building had been defaced with swastikas.

Police officers were called to the scene and began an investigation.

Police commanders in the region told Arutz Sheva that it was not the first time that the school has been vandalized with anti-Semitic symbols, including swastikas.

MK Eli Yishai of the hareidi Shas party blamed anti-hareidi incitement for the incident. “The public atmosphere in Israel against the hareidi community and Torah students essentially encourages harassment of the hareidi community, and anyone who argues otherwise is, at the very least, mistaken,” he declared.

“I urge the police to bring those responsible to justice, and I demand that politicians realize that their behavior, and their statements, have results,” he said.

MK Shimon Ohayon (Yisrael Beytenu) said his bill to outlaw the use of Nazi symbols could help fight the phenomenon of anti-Semitic graffiti.

“My proposal to outlaw the use of Nazi symbols would help fight precisely these kinds of cases,” he argued, adding, “The use of Nazi symbols, and the swastika in particular, is anti-Semitic, racist, and hurtful… We must take every measure to prevent this.”