An unknown individual graffitied Topeka’s only synagogue with pro-Palestinian messages on Thursday referencing the ongoing war in Gaza.
The vandal spray-painted “Save Gaza” and “Free Palestine” on the driveway leading to Temple Beth Sholom. The perpetrator wasn’t visible on the synagogue’s security cameras, but the incident is under investigation by the Topeka Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Temple Beth Shalom called the vandalization a form of antisemitism. The concept of dual loyalty, that Jewish people hold allegiances that conflict with their trustworthiness to the United States, is an antisemitic trope according to the American Jewish Committee.
“I think what’s upsetting when these things happen, the reason we call graffiti like this antisemitic, is that there’s nothing I can do, there’s nothing anyone in my congregation can do, to change what will happen in Israel or Gaza or anything like that. And yet it is us who are targeted for these sorts of things,” said Rabbi Samuel Stern. “We’re American citizens. We are targeted because we are Jews. That’s why we’re singled out and that never feels good.”
After the Oct. 7 attacks and the war in Gaza, the number of anti-Jewish hate crimes rose across the country. In the two months after the attack, the Anti-Defamation League reported more than 2,000 antisemitic incidents, a 337% increase year-over year.
In Topeka, however, Stern said the Jewish community doesn’t generally feel unsafe.
“Our synagogue has been here since the late 19th century,” Stern said. “We’ve been in Topeka basically as long as anybody has been in Topeka. We believe that this is a place where people are open-minded and generous in spirit. We believe that our neighbors don’t agree with this sort of thing.”
More:Kansas Legislature’s first official act of 2024 is a resolution in support of Israel
More:Here’s what Kansas governor and Jewish leader said about antisemitism at Hanukkah event
The state’s top Republican legislative leaders, Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, and House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, issued a statement decrying the act. Both legislators cosponsored a resolution on the first day of session supporting Israel in its war against Hamas.
“It is deeply troubling to see the hate and intolerance of the antisemitic vandalism that occurred at a place of worship in our state’s capital,” Masterson and Hawkins said in the Friday joint statement. “The rot of antisemitism has no place in Kansas and we proudly stand with the Jewish community against this hateful act.”