Fight against hate crimes must continue
The problem of anti-Semitism returns to Pennsylvania with vandalism at Harrisburg synagogue.
During this summer filled with troubles on many fronts, the all too familiar problem of anti-Semitism has made an unwelcome return to Pennsylvania.
This month a Harrisburg synagogue was defaced with two red swastikas painted at its entrance, causing alarm not just in the state capital but among Jewish communities and their allies all over Pennsylvania.
The issue of anti-Semitism has been overshadowed by other developments in recent months, but many of us have not forgotten the shocking acts of animus against Jews in the last few years in a nation where they were thought to be safe from such attacks.
We also haven’t forgotten that one of the most shocking of those acts took place here in Pennsylvania when a gunman slaughtered 11 worshippers at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018. It was followed by acts of violence against Jews in Poway, Calif.; Jersey City, N.J.; Monsey, N.Y.; and Brooklyn, N.Y.
An act of vandalism may seem minor compared with these recent attacks, but it serves as a chilling reminder of the hatred that’s out there and the need for all people of goodwill to be vigilant in fighting it.
As has been the case with other anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S., the defacing of a wall at Kesher Israel Congregation prompted a heartening response.
“I don’t think it’s in any way a reflection of our Harrisburg community,” Kesher Israel Rabbi Elisha Friedman told PennLive. “The community is very supportive — the Jewish and the non-Jewish community, law enforcement, elected officials and neighbors.”
Friedman said plans were in the works for an interfaith show of support.
It’s important for people of all faiths to stand up against this kind of hatred. One reason is to show solidarity with the Jewish community. Another is that synagogues are hardly the only houses of worship targeted by people with hate and sometimes violence on their minds. Churches, mosques and other religious institutions have been attacked as well.
Anti-Semitism is a particular concern right now because of some troubling statistical trends. The Anti-Defamation League reported that in 2019 the American Jewish community experienced the highest level of anti-Semitic incidents since tracking began in 1979, with more than 2,100 acts of assault, vandalism and harassment reported across the United States. Those figures included five fatalities directly linked to antis-Semitic violence and another 91 individuals targeted in physical assaults.
Though it wasn’t directly related to the latest incident in Harrisburg, we were pleased to see that the state police have announced that they are beefing up efforts to fight hate crimes.
PennLive reported that four troopers are being added to the force’s Heritage Affairs Section, which investigates hate crimes.
All Pennsylvania law enforcement agencies can investigate hate crimes. The Heritage Affairs Section is dedicated to assisting other police agencies in preventing, monitoring, responding to and investigating occurrences criminal acts motivated by racial, religious and other biases.
State police said expanding the Heritage Affairs Section will help particularly in its work on improving relationships between police and the communities they serve.
“Establishing lines of communication to facilitate meaningful collaboration with local leaders is an important part of community policing, which is why we have dedicated additional resources to the Heritage Affairs Section,” state police Commissioner Robert Evanchick told PennLive..
Corporal Timothy Greene has been assigned to the unit that covers Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, and York counties. A former firefighter and paramedic, Green became the first minority fire chief of Concordville Fire Company in Delaware County at the age of 24, according to PennLive.
We offer our strongest support to the troopers and all others engaged in fighting bias crimes across Pennsylvania. Acts of bigotry of any kind cannot be tolerated in our commonwealth or anywhere else in America and around the world.