FāVS News News and Commentary about Religion and Ethics in Eastern Washington and North Idaho
By Tracy Simmons
Temple Beth Shalom announced in a press release today that during the concluding Yom Kippur service, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, it was noticed that a swastika had been painted on the concrete wall in the temple’s enclosed courtyard.
Rabbi Tamar Malino said in a press release that the congregation is working with the Spokane Police Department regarding the incident and that police are investigating the vandalism and reviewing security footage.
“The mark is being removed immediately, and both the Temple Beth Shalom, and Congregation Emanu-el communities continue to show strength and calm in the face of this hateful act,” she said in the release.
Tracy Simmons is an award-winning journalist specializing in religion reporting and digital entrepreneurship. In her approximate 20 years on the religion beat, Simmons has tucked a notepad in her pocket and found some of her favorite stories aboard cargo ships in New Jersey, on a police chase in Albuquerque, in dusty Texas church bell towers, on the streets of New York and in tent cities in Haiti. Simmons has worked as a multimedia journalist for newspapers across New Mexico, Texas, Connecticut and Washington. She is the executive director of SpokaneFāVS.com, a digital journalism start-up covering religion news and commentary in Spokane, Washington. She also writes for The Spokesman-Review and national publications. She is a Scholarly Assistant Professor of Journalism at Washington State University.
This is so sad. I hope the Spokane community rallies around Temple Beth Shalom and Congregation Emanu-el to offer any needed support.