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Tuesday January 7, 1997

Religious symbol mistaken for Nazi logo

The sighting of a Nazi swastika outlined in blinking Christmas lights on a San Francisco garage door last week turned out to be
Mark Samuel called the police and several Jewish agencies after spotting the symbol on Friday night of last week while driving o

The police told Samuel that a swastika displayed on private property isn't illegal.

Barbara Bergen, the director of the regional Anti-Defamation League, drove out to the site Monday. After viewing the 36-inch-high symbol, however, she came to the conclusion it was actually an ancient Eastern religious symbol.

This symbol is also called a swastika, which is a Sanskrit word for good luck or well being.

The Nazis co-opted the symbol earlier this century. The Nazi swastika is a cross with equal arms, each of which bends to the right.

The symbol on the garage door had arms bent to the left, Bergen said. She also noticed English and Asian words written around the symbol, including "wisdom" and "compassion."

Samuel was relieved to find out he was wrong. "A lot of times you don't know how to confront these things."

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