Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on April 8, 2015

GAITHERSBURG City police are investigating a hate crime at the Shaare Torah congregation after a citizen found swastikas and the letters KKK spray-painted on the synagogue early this morning.

Surveillance videos show two males in face masks and gloves at 2:37 a.m. Tuesday going around all four walls of the building and painting 11 swastikas as well as the letters KKK and other anti-Semitic comments in white spray paint, according to Gaithersburg Police Chief Mark Sroka.

Sroka said the police are investigating the incident as a hate crime, but the synagogue had not received any threats and police found no evidence the suspects attempted to go inside the building.

A citizen notified police of the vandalism at about 7:10 this morning and at least five officers responded to search the immediate area in case suspects remained nearby. Since then officers have canvassed the surrounding 21 homes for witnesses but have not found any as of 4:30 p.m., according to Sroka. He said they plan to canvass again this evening to try to talk to those who were not home the first time and may have been at work.

Anyone with information can call the police department at (301) 258-6400. The department will also make public the surveillance footage either tonight or tomorrow in case that prompts more information about the incident, Sroka said.

Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman released a statement Tuesday saying the city will not tolerate hate crimes. At the mayor and council meeting Monday night, Ashman and the council recognized Holocaust Remembrance Day with Shaare Torah Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal and Executive Board President Connie Liss.

It is obvious that remembering is not enough. With the vandalism that occurred at the synagogue last night, we must continue to battle racism and be diligent about understanding and embracing all those in our community, no matter who they are, where they come from, or what they believe, Ashman said.

Councilmember Ryan Spiegel, a member of the Shaare Torah congregation, said he was heartbroken at the incident.

The terrible acts of a few will not deter or weaken the resolve of the vast majority of our residents to continue celebrating and respecting our diversity and multiculturalism as great strengths, just as we did last night at our City Council meeting. Indeed, if anything, this incident will make us even stronger as we come together as a city to confront hate and diminish it through education and friendship, Spiegel said.

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Synagogue defaced in Gaithersburg

Category: Synagogue
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