Anti-Semitism is still alive and well in middle America, with at least one grafitti artist having taken great care to spray-paint a neo-Nazi mural on the wall of a synagogue in Carmel, Indiana over the Sabbath.
Someone spray-painted two big black iron crosses and a giant swastika inside a red painted square on to the wall of Congregation Shaarey Tefilla synagogue.
Synagogue president Corey Freedman wrote on a post on Facebook that the congregation is working with police and communicating with other synagogues and organizations to make sure “they are aware of the event and can take appropriate measures.”
Indiana is one of five states in the U.S. that does not have a hate crime statute, and the number of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States are rising, according to a report published earlier this year by the Anti-Defamation League.
Debby Barton Grant, CEO and executive vice president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis wrote in a post on Facebook that she is “disgusted and furious” about the incident. Quoting a past statement by the Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council, Grant wrote, “There can be no equivocation when it comes to rejecting Nazism, white supremacy, and antisemitism.
“Such bigotry in all its forms is antithetical to the principles of freedom and equality that form the cornerstone of American democracy and our pluralistic society.”
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence — a former governor of the state — said Sunday that he was “sickened and appalled by the cowardly act of vandalism” at the synagogue, “a beautiful synagogue in Carmel, Indiana where I have many good friends.”
Sickened and appalled by the cowardly act of vandalism at Congregation Shaarey Tefilla; a beautiful synagogue in Carmel, Indiana where I have many good friends. Those responsible must be held accountable. These vile acts of anti-Semitism must end. https://t.co/0h6rKPilda
— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP)