Carmel synagogue vandalized with anti-Semitic symbols
CARMEL, Ind. (WISH) — Officials are investigating anti-Semitic graffiti found at a synagogue in Carmel.
A Nazi flag and other symbols were spray-painted on a brick wall at the Congregation Shaarey Tefilla on 116th Street.
“I’ve met some of our congregants in the parking lot to just hug and to recognize how hard it is for some of them,” Corey Freedman, president of Shaarey Tefilla Congregation, said Sunday afternoon.
Freedman says the vandalism, on a brick wall surrounding the synagogue’s dumpster, went on for about three hours: 11 p.m. Saturday to 2 a.m. Sunday.
“The Nazis weren’t just after Jewish people,” Freedman said. “That in itself is horrific. The fact that people want to continue to bring up that symbolism and demonstrate that symbolism in a way that is intended to be intimidating is awful and cannot be continued.”
The vandalism was caught on surveillance video and handed over to Carmel Police Department.
Freedman estimates the damage will cost anywhere from $2,000 – $3,000 to repair.
On Sunday afternoon, the graffiti had been covered with a tarp in an effort to “preserve the evidence” ahead of rainy weather expected in the coming days.
Freedman has a strong message for whoever committed the act: “We want them to understand this is not acceptable.”We want them to understand that we are working against these kinds of things. We are disappointed that this occurred. We want them to grow and learn from this. Anybody that has a heart like this right now needs to understand that this is not the way life is.”
The Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) said the congregation is working closely with police and city officials.
According to the council, extra security has been put in place at all Indianapolis community congregations to keep members safe.
JCRC released a full statement on the incident:
On Saturday July 28 one of our greater Indianapolis synagogues was vandalized by antisemitic graffiti. The congregation has been communicating closely with law enforcement, city officials, and its members. An official investigation has been opened at this time.
The JCRC is, and has been, in close contact with staff and lay leadership, offering any assistance and support they may require. JCRC and the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis have also been in communication with staff and clergy at all other Indianapolis community congregations and agencies to ensure that they take all necessary precautions to further secure their facilities.
More information will be provided as it becomes available.
Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard also released a statement:
I strongly condemn the actions of those responsible for defacing a structure at the local Congregation Shaarey Tefilla in Carmel. There is no place for this kind of hatred in Carmel and it does not reflect the respectful and welcoming nature of the vast majority of our residents who come from many different cultural and faith backgrounds.
As we are reminded each year during our city’s Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony, we must never forget and never stop fighting against the hatred that led to the murder of 6 million Jews. These images that represent the ideas that led to those crimes are not reflective of what our City stands for. I want to assure the Congregation Shaarey Tefilla and all of our residents that our Carmel Police Department is already investigating this incident and when apprehended, those responsible will be held accountable.
On Sunday night, Gov. Eric Holcomb released a statement, where he confirmed the state police offered to assist Carmel police with their investigation:
This morning, I contacted Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter and made sure state police offered to fully assist the Carmel Police Department and the FBI in bringing those behind the repulsive acts of desecration at the Congregation Shaarey Tefilla to justice.
The cowards responsible for these crimes always hide from public scrutiny precisely because they know their actions will be soundly rejected by their neighbors and are not consistent with who we are as a society.
We will work to help find those responsible and hold them accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
In light of the vandalism, officials with the synagogue say they will hold a solidarity gathering at 6 p.m. Monday at the Congregation Shaarey Tefilla, at 3085 W. 116th St., in Carmel.
