Vandals have attempted to dampen Olympic spirit by attacking Israeli flag decals displayed along Vancouver’s sidewalks.

Two Israeli flag emblems have disappeared from South Granville after they were sloshed with paint and the words “Free Palestine” were scrawled on them last month.

“There are unfortunately incidents of all kinds aimed at all kinds of different people, different faiths, different minority groups, etc.,” Mark Gurvis, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver told

The Province

.

“It’s not shocking to us that this happens in the world and it’s not shocking to us that the flag of Israel would be targeted,” said Gurvis.

“It’s very sad that this would happen in the midst of the Olympics, at a time when our region will be welcoming the world, that something like this would be happening.”

The emblems, which were at the entrance of the Starbucks at 7th Avenue and Granville Street and on Granville between 12th and 14th Avenues, were removed by the South Granville Business Improvement Association on Dec. 26.

The decals are part of Flagwalk, a display of some 450 international flags from 80 countries participating in winter sporting events that crawl along through Yaletown to South Granville.

The spots where the flags were have remained empty for the time being as the BIAs had not factored in multiple replacement costs.

South Granville BIA executive director Sharon Townsend told the

Jewish Tribune

that no police report was filed for any of the missing flags “mostly because of time constraints and the realization that there was little anyone could do about it.”

They will be replaced prior to the start of the Olympics.

kmercer@theprovince.com

Katie Mercer, Canwest News