Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By simmons on August 24, 2017

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PIEDMONT A rash of hate incidents, some directed at the Jewish community in Alameda and now at Kehilla Community Synagogue in Piedmont have police investigating the incidents in both cities.

The stickers said: Marxism is murder; Black lives matter except for the 6,000 blacks killed by other blacks each year and the 1,000 black babies aborted each day. A thick glue on the stickers made them difficult to remove, Bowers said.

When you start damaging peoples property its going beyond political or sociological debates, Bowers said. This is an open place of worship with folks expressing who they are.

Being targeted like that goes beyond a debate, Bowers continued. This is a direct action that can be perceived as intimidation. We will not tolerate it. We treat it very seriously. Affixing hate messages under the guise of free speech damaging peoples property is a crime.

Michael Saxe-Taller, executive director at Kehilla, saidWednesday, I think there are some people who are very confused and hurting themselves who somehow think that lashing out at other people is doing something productive.

It is not a time to be despairing, to not feel vulnerable. We have interfaith coalitions and have great support from our partners. We have a sense of being a part of something way stronger than the confusion and distress of a smaller group, he continued.We have been having important discussions about our reaction to what happened in Charlottesville, and issues of anti-Semitism. We are not treating these stickers as a big deal. We are continuing to organize for racial and social justice, taking action and taking care of ourselves.

Bowers said police are checking with nearby residents who may have surveillance cameras and looking for possible witnesses to the incident. Anyone with information can call Piedmont police at510-420-3000.

Alameda experienced two vandalism incidents directed at the Jewish community this past week as well. On or about Aug. 16, classroom windows at Temple Israel on Bay Farm Island were smashed. On Aug. 20, fliers featuring a swastika and a hate message were discovered on the sidewalk on Sherman Street. A resident on Sherman reported to police after he found a second flier on the sidewalk. An officer dispatched to the scene found a third flier with the same hate messages.

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Hate speech stickers found at Piedmont synagogue, police say - East Bay Times

Category: Synagogue
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