Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (D) expressed that antisemitic graffiti has no place in Pennsylvania following an incident in which a synagogue was spray-painted with a red swastika on Saturday night.
“This is the second time I’ve written a message like this in just as many days. It’s two too many. Antisemitism and the defacement of a place of worship of any kind are not acceptable in this Commonwealth,” Shapiro stated in a social media post on X, previously known as Twitter.
In In a post on Facebook, the synagogue’s leadership indicated that this incident was the second act of vandalism to occur in a little over a week.
The previous Friday, a sign saying “Our Community Stands With Israel” was vandalized with red paint. The police were involved, and the sign was replaced. On Saturday night, the new sign was defaced with a red swastika.
“A swastika does not express opinions about the policies of the State of Israel, nor does it show support for Palestinians. It is a symbol of hate and division,” the synagogue stated.
The synagogue also vowed not to be deterred by attempts to intimidate.
“We don’t know who did this. What we do know is that they wanted us to be scared,” the statement conveyed.
“We, the synagogue's leadership, want everyone to understand that we will not succumb to fear or division. We are fortunate to live in a society where hate speech is not tolerated by the police, who are collaborating with us to keep us safe. We are fortunate to live in a society where neighbors of different faiths have already reached out to offer support,” they added.
Shapiro mentioned that he has spoken to the rabbi of the congregation at Temple Beth Hillel/Beth El “and assured him that we support his wonderful congregation and stand against hate.”
Shapiro conveyed that the Pennsylvania State Police is working with law enforcement to find the person responsible.
“These acts of hate will never change the fact that no matter what you look like, where you come from, who you love, or who you do and don’t pray to, you belong here in Pennsylvania,” Shapiro expressed.
The vandalism comes amid an increase in antisemitic incidents, particularly since the conflict between Hamas and Israel began after the October 7 attack.
In the two months following that attack, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported a record number of antisemitic incidents since the group began monitoring in 1979. Over 2,000 antisemitic incidents were reported, marking a 337 percent increase from the same period the previous year.
