A “We Stand With Israel” banner that has adorned the roadside of Temple Beth Ami in Rockville for years was defaced sometime over the weekend. In red spray paint, the word Israel was crossed out and replaced with most of the word Palestine.
When synagogue staff went to the building Sunday morning to prepare for Sunday school, they noticed the graffiti.
“We didn’t leave it up. We took it down immediately,” Rabbi Gary Pokras told MCM, adding that the banner will be replaced as soon as possible.
When asked if the incident was caught on video, Pokras replied, “I actually don’t want to tell you that” as it could hamper the synagogue’s security.
Congregants “are taking it in stride. We are upset. We are not going to take it,” he said.
The synagogue has no intention “of making a big deal about it,” he said. “That just feeds the hate.” He said a congregational letter won’t be sent to members for that reason.
In Temple Beth Ami’s Facebook page, a lengthy post praised the right of free speech and then noted, “Those who defaced our signs are not interested in dialogue or debate. if they were, they would know, that like them, we mourn for every innocent life lost – Palestinians and Israelis.”
The post also noted, “Vandalism in not free speech, it is a crime, and an attempt to intimidate our congregation. It has already failed.”
During his weekly meeting with the press, Council President Andrew Friedson called the incident, “angering. It’s frustrating. It’s upsetting.”
He said police are investigating and “taking this incident extremely seriously.”
