Photo from Wikimedia Commons. A second synagogue in Huntsville, Ala., was vandalized with anti-Semitic graffiti over the span of a couple days, authorities said.
Swastikas were found on the Chabad of Huntsville on April 10; the suspect reportedly was captured on surveillance footage. Local police are investigating the matter with assistance from the FBI.
Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle said at a press conference in front of the Chabad, “We do not condone this. We are going to make sure we protect our community.”
On April 8, swastikas and other anti-Semitic slurs such as the words “Jew rats” were spray-painted on the Etz Chayim synagogue in Huntsville.
The Jewish Federation of Huntsville and North Alabama said in an April 10 statement, “During one of the holiest times of the year for the Jewish people, cowards have now attacked us twice. An attack on the Jewish community is an attack on all of us.”
They added: “It’s meant to terrify us. Make no mistake, we will not be scared out of this wonderful place we call home.”
Rabbi Eric Berk of Temple B’nai Sholom, which is also in Huntsville, issued a statement saying that he has been in contact with local police and the FBI to help protect his synagogue from anti-Semitic vandalism.
“Let us remain united in our efforts to persist through and overcome these reprehensible acts of anti-Semitic hatred,” he said. “As I’ve unfortunately had to say more than once: let us remember that an attack on any House of Worship is an attack on every House of Worship.”
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.