For the members of Congregation Beth Israel in Austin, the sight of police officers on their hands and knees helping to scrub away hate was a powerful testament to community solidarity. On Thursday, April 23, the synagogue was targeted with antisemitic graffiti, including a swastika and the phrase \u201cDeath to Israel\u201d scrawled across a parking lot wall accessible from the street.<\/p>\n
The discovery was made by a member of the local Jewish community driving past the campus. The reaction from the synagogue\u2019s leadership was instantaneous. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy immediate reaction was action,\u201d Jake Cohen, executive director of the 650-family congregation told the JHV. \u201cWe needed to find out what had been written and get it covered up immediately. No one needs to see this right now. I just jumped into action mode.\u201d<\/p>\n
The removal process became a grassroots effort of defiance. Before Cohen could even ask for help, a teacher from the synagogue\u2019s school \u2013 who had seen the graffiti \u2013 went to a hardware store on her own initiative and returned with graffiti-removal spray. Cohen, along with Austin Police Department officers, began the manual labor of scrubbing the wall.<\/p>\n
Later that evening, the synagogue\u2019s facilities director, who had already arrived home for the day, drove 30 minutes back to the campus, insisting he couldn\u2019t stay away while there was work to be done. By nightfall, the wall was repainted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like this person wanted to send a message and wanted people to see their words,\u201d Cohen said. \u201cI have no intention of sharing that message or letting more people see their words and broadcast hate. I don\u2019t want to amplify that voice.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the physical damage was erased quickly, the emotional weight of the incident was felt deeply. For many, the vandalism stirred up painful memories of October 2021, when a young man attempted to burn down the synagogue. That arson attack caused such significant damage that the congregation has not used its main sanctuary since, instead worshiping in a transitional space while planning a brand-new sanctuary and welcome center.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt stirs up a lot,\u201d Cohen admitted. \u201cI remember the anger and sadness that people have \u2013 this hate in their hearts and wanting to intimidate Jews. But it also stirs up our resilience. We didn\u2019t let hate stop us then, and we aren\u2019t going to let it stop us or slow us down now.\u201d<\/p>\n
The incident in Austin occurred as the Houston Jewish community was processing news of a thwarted plot to murder congregants at Congregation Beth Israel. Cohen noted the somber coincidence that both targeted communities share the name \u201cBeth Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur thoughts and our hearts are with Congregation Beth Israel in Houston,\u201d Cohen said. \u201cThe most important thing that we can do as Jewish people in this moment is be open and loving and present \u2013 not to retreat or hide. Nothing diffuses hate like love.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regional leaders and organizations quickly condemned the act. The Anti-Defamation League Austin and Austin City Council member Marc Duchen both noted the \u201cgrim reminder\u201d of rising antisemitic incidents. Notably, the Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Texas) issued a statement of solidarity, condemning the graffiti and reaffirming a shared commitment to the safety of all faith groups.<\/p>\n
As the congregation ramps up security with the assistance of Austin police, Cohen\u2019s message remains one of tikkun olam (repairing the world).<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t let these acts of hate or vandalism stop you from being proud and engaged in the world,\u201d Cohen said. \u201cDouble down on making the world a better place. Nothing will make a greater impact than that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the members of Congregation Beth Israel in Austin, the sight of police officers on their hands and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":89414,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[17421,37,31717],"class_list":{"0":"post-89413","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-action","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-vandalism-at-austins-congregation-beth-israel-met-with-resilience"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116488596503455822","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89413\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}