An Arizona synagogue was defaced with anti-Israel graffiti on Tuesday, according to a press release by Chabad Tucson-Young Israel.
“Abolish Israel” and “End Apartheid” were scrawled in purple spray paint on a wall underneath a decorative Star of David.
“This is deeply concerning,” Executive Director of Chabad Tucson Rabbi Yossie Shemtov said. “How do you call for ending supposed discrimination in the same sentence as promoting genocide?”
The Tucson Police Department are reportedly investigating the incident.
Chabad Tucson later said on Facebook on Wednesday that it had covered the graffiti with a new coat of paint, and thanked Jewish and non-Jewish community members who offered support.
Second time that a Chabad center had been targeted in Tucson
Associate Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin said in the Tuesday statement that this was the second time that a Chabad center had been targeted in Tucson by vandals. Nathan Beaver was arrested in 2021 for spray-painting a swastika and an antisemitic slur on the door of the Chabad on River synagogue.
“We must send a clear message that, whatever your political views are about a conflict in the Middle East, that does not give you the right to spread hate here and target the Jewish community,” said Ceitlin.
Anti-Defamation League Desert Region condemned the incident, noting that the vandalism of a Jewish house of worship came as the parent group had released its audit of 2024 antisemitic incidents. According to the audit, there was a 23% increase in antisemitic vandalism in Arizona compared to the previous year.