Maryland Synagogue Vandalized With Swastikas

This morning, Jewish residents of Gaithersburg, MD, awoke to find the local Conservative synagogue defaced. Congregation Shaare Torah is situated less than an hour from Washington, D.C., and was vandalized with swastikas and anti-Semitic epithets like “KKK” and “Hitler.”

Police are looking into the incident, which comes in the middle of the Passover holiday, and have reportedly identified a masked vandal on surveillance footage.

Here’s the suspect who spray painted swastikas and Hitler on the MD synagogue. He wore a “Scream” mask. pic.twitter.com/v7Npiv4l4w



— Emily Miller (@EmilyMiller) April 7, 2015

Congregants took to social media to express their dismay:

@ABC7News this is a shot from Shaare Torah in Gaithersburg today. #antisemitism pic.twitter.com/WdGFvvLzIA — Andy Hausman (@Ahaus101) April 7, 2015

@Yair_Rosenberg This is my synagogue, and this area is an open-minded melting pot. Ignorant kids that need spring break activities. A shame — Alan Silbert (@alansilbert) April 7, 2015

The synagogue and its members are not bowing to the vandals, however, and even as the police investigation is ongoing, will be meeting tonight.