fbpx
48.5 F
Spokane
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
HomeNewsTemple Beth Shalom Vandalized with Swastikas

Temple Beth Shalom Vandalized with Swastikas

Date:

Related stories

Gov. Inslee Signs Legislation Redefining WA’s Hate Crime Laws

Gov. Jay Inslee signed legislation March 13 updating Washington State’s Hate Crime Laws to now include defacement of public property.

Local Baha’is Will Celebrate Naw-Ruz March 19 to Welcome Their New Year

For Baha'is, Naw-Ruz commemorates the spiritual renewal that their faith's teachings brought to humanity from teachers including Zoraster, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad and ultimately Baha’u’llah. The holiday, though, is rooted in various cultures.

Legislature Decides WA Schools Should Include LGBTQ+ History

Washington State Senate Bill 5462 would require the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the state's education agency, to update learning standards to include the histories, perspectives and contributions of LGBTQ+ people.

FāVS Religion News Roundup: March 15

This Roundup features a concert, a DanceFest and Holi celebration, a movie, a musical and a talk about racial justice. It also includes a sober update about how Idaho is losing its OBGYNS.

Poll Shows Slight Dip in U.S. Support for LGBTQ Rights Across Religious Groups

While most Americans continue to broadly support LGBTQ rights, that support may be waning, including among religious Americans, according to a new poll from PRRI.

Temple Beth Shalom Vandalized with Swastikas

Spokane Police confirmed Monday morning that swastikas were spray painted on the front of the Temple Beth Shalom building. The synagogues’s Holocaust Memorial was also defaced.

A white power symbol was also painted onto the property.

Courtesy Photo

This isn’t the first time the synagogue has been vandalized. Swastikas were spray painted on the building in 2014 during the High Holy Days.

Surveillance cameras captured a white male wearing blue jeans, black boots, a dark jacket with a hood, a beanie and gloves with a red mask with sunglasses on his head. After canvassing the South Hill neighborhood near the synagogue, police could not find the suspect.

Mayor Nadine Woodward released a statement condemning the defacing of the synagogue.

“Spokane is a community that welcomes different faiths and protects the ability of people to practice those beliefs safely and freely in their places of worship. The symbols and writings are disgusting and desecrate a place of worship and a memorial to those whose lives were lost during a hateful time in world history. The Spokane Police Department has dedicated numerous resources to the investigation of this hate crime. We speak on behalf of the community when we say this type of hate and divisiveness in our community will never be tolerated.”

In a statement Chief of Police Craig Meidl said the act was “reprehensible” and that law enforcement takes hate crimes seriously. He added SPD stands with those who are the target of hate and bigotry.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact crime stoppers at (509) 456-2233.

Officials from Temple Beth Shalom were unavailable for comment.

Tracy Simmons
Tracy Simmons
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 FāVS.News, 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.

Ad

spot_img
spot_img
spot_img
spot_img

6 COMMENTS

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
6 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
trackback

[…] Source Link […]

trackback

[…] last week, a person or persons still unknown spray-painted Swastikas on the outside walls of Temple Beth Shalom and defaced the synagogue’s Holocaust memorial. Temple […]

trackback

[…] the brunt of holocaustic abuse, and it’s not over. Recently Spokane’s Temple Beth Shalom was vandalized with swastikas and a white power symbol.This happened in 2014 also, during High Holy […]

trackback

[…] short talks about hatred that’s been evident  in the U.S., and is relatable due to the recent desecration at Temple Beth […]

trackback

[…] panel is prompted in part by vandalism at the Temple Beth Shalom and the Holocaust Memorial in Spokane earlier this year. Members of the […]

trackback

[…] Temple Beth Shalom Vandalized with Swastikas – February 8, 2021 […]

spot_img
6
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x