Baltimore County Police are investigating “antisemitic” graffiti in Cockeysville.
On Saturday, officers responded around 5 p.m. to reports of four incidents of graffiti on the 200 block of West Warren Road near a recycling plant, on the 10500 block of York Road, on a state highway sign for westbound of Warren Road, and at the intersection of York Avenue and Warren Road, according to the department.
Police said the graffiti was antisemitic but did not respond to a question of what it was of.
The department said it’s working with community partners to find the parties involved. The Baltimore County Department of Public Works and Transportation has removed the sign that had graffiti and ordered a new one, said Lowell Melser, a department spokesperson.
“We condemn the antisemitic and anti-Israel graffiti that was found in northern Baltimore County over the weekend,” said Howard Libit, executive director of the Baltimore Jewish Council, in an emailed statement. “It is one thing to disagree in a respectful manner. But hate has no place in our community, and the graffiti that we see crosses the line into hate. This is just another example of the staggering surge in antisemitism that we have seen since the October 7th attack.”
In response to the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel last year, communities around the world have faced incidents of religious hate in recent months. Colleges and authorities in Maryland and beyond have been dealing with ripples of the war.
“I am confident that the Baltimore County police are taking this seriously, as they did with previous incidents…” Libit said. “We also know that it is very difficult to find the perpetrators of hate incidents like this.”
Libit said the council hasn’t been involved in the incident or cleanup but has reported the situation to the Ant-Defamation League.
Anyone with information on the case can contact 410-307-2020.