RACINE — A Racine synagogue is the latest target of anti-Semitic graffiti.
It was discovered Sunday when board members arrived for a meeting in the afternoon.
Rabbi Martyn Adelberg told TODAY'S TMJ4 that in 19 years his congregation has never experienced anything like this. Although it is difficult to understand why someone would do this, he is comforted knowing he has the full support of the community.
“Sadly, it isn’t a shock anymore. We are in an era in which we’re seeing the normalization of xenophobic rhetoric,” Elana Kahn said.
Kahn is the director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation. She said the spray-painted swastika along with the word “Jude” and three symbols that mirror a Nazi-style “s” were first discovered at Racine's Beth Israel Sinai by the congregation president.
“We have to demand that our leaders denounce hateful language, nativistic rhetoric, fearmongering,” Kahn said.
Acts of hate such as this one are happening more frequently. Kahn said just last week there were two similar reports of anti-Semitic vandalism and the Jewish Community Relations (JCR) 2018 reports show a 21% increase in overall anti-Semitic incidents.
Racine Police are investigating.
