Jewish Community Outraged at Prevalence of Antisemitic Graffiti Throughout Virginia
by JNS.org
Mills Edwin Godwin High School in Henrico, Va., was vandalized with racist imagery and messages. Photo: Screenshot.
JNS.org – The Virginia Jewish community has expressed outrage over antisemitic graffiti found throughout the state.
Swastikas and words such as “kill Jews” have appeared in Henrico and in the state capital, Richmond, over recent weeks on road signs and fences.
The latest incident was discovered on Sunday at Mills Edwin Godwin High School in Henrico. The graffiti there has since been removed.
“The images are hateful, disgusting and have zero place in society,” said Henrico Public Schools spokesperson Andy Jenks. “We condemn these acts in the strongest terms.”
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“They’re talking about me, they’re talking about my family, they’re talking about my community,” Temple Beth-El Rabbi Michael Knopf told local ABC affiliate WRIC. “So, it’s impossible to not take that personally.”
School officials met on Sunday with Daniel Staffenberg, the CEO of the Jewish Community Federation of Richmond, to provide information and updates surrounding the case, Jenks told The Richmond Times-Dispatch.
“When you see words and symbols like this, you’re immediately nervous or scared or concerned,” Staffenberg told WRIC.
“Whether it was done by kids or adults, it further feeds hate,” Staffenberg, who declined to specify the graffiti, told The Richmond Times-Dispatch. “Words matter.”
