The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh is angered and disgusted by the acts of antisemitic graffiti and vandalism on our office building, Chabad of Squirrel Hill and at several Jewish homes this morning.
This incident comes on the heels of a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents following the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7. The location and nature of the vandalism suggest that the criminals were targeting Jewish institutions, individuals and houses of worship to blame Jews for the actions of Israel —a typical antisemitic trope. This group claimed that the Jewish Federation, the non-profit Jewish umbrella organization serving greater Pittsburgh, is “funding genocide.”
The graffiti outside of Chabad included an inverted triangle, a symbol used by Hamas to mark targets for terror. These are clear acts of antisemitic hate and intimidation targeted towards Jewish institutions and houses of worship.
For a Jewish community still healing from the worst antisemitic attack in U.S. history in 2018 and now retraumatized by the worst single act of terrorism against Jews since the Holocaust, these acts of vandalism are particularly despicable. Vandalism targeting Jews is criminal hate speech, pure and simple. We condemn hate speech of any form, which has no place anywhere in Pittsburgh.
This is a targeted threat to our Jewish community, but there are no known threats of violence at this time. Any acts of hate must be reported immediately to ensure coordination among our Jewish institutions and with law enforcement. Incidents may be reported by calling 911 or at jewishpgh.org/form/incident-report.
As an organization on the front lines, we feel our community’s increasing alarm and fear. We are grateful to the upstanders in our community who continue to stand with us against hate, including local elected officials and law enforcement. We cannot normalize or become inured to the proliferation of such heinous acts.