The Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Northern Virginia was vandalized on Saturday with 19 spray-painted swastikas on it.
Surveillance footage shows an unidentified person spray painting the swastikas onto the JCC at 4:30 a.m. Staff members of the JCC first discovered the graffiti at 8 am. The investigation remains ongoing.
“These acts do not represent the community around the J or the community in Northern Virginia,” Jeff Dannick, executive director of the JCC, and David Yaffe, president of the JCC’s board of directors, wrote on the JCC’s Facebook page. “As we also know, our neighboring churches also have suffered recent vandalism. The J as a whole, and particularly through the focused efforts of our Committee for a Just and Caring Community, will continue to participate as a positive force in both the Jewish and wider communities.”
Since the vandalism occurred, several community members have shown their support for the JCC by leaving messages in chalk on the sidewalk around the building that read, “Love is the answer” and “We stand with you.” Others showed support by sending flowers, emails and calling the synagogue with support.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) shared a photo of the vandalism on Twitter and wrote, “An insidious rise in hateful actions and anti-Semitism is happening in Virginia and across the country. We must meet it with fierce condemnation and an over-abundance of love and unity. We cannot allow hate to fester.”
This is the Fairfax Jewish Community Center this morning.
An insidious rise in hateful actions and anti-Semitism is happening in Virginia and across the country. We must meet it with fierce condemnation and an over-abundance of love and unity. We cannot allow hate to fester. pic.twitter.com/85bW2Hl0th
— Tim Kaine (@timkaine) October 6, 2018
On their Facebook page, the JCC wrote that they were “touched by the outpouring of support” and that the graffiti was removed on Saturday afternoon.
“Thank you to everyone who has offered your kind words and support of solidarity against hate,” the post read.
In 2017, 20-year-old Dylan Mahone was arrested and charged for vandalizing the JCC as well as a church and a community college with anti-Semitic graffiti.
The investigation remains ongoing.
