Hoax Alert: Baffled in Bryn Mawr (2024)
According to Michael Starr writing in the ‘Jerusalem Post’ there was another so-called ‘anti-Semitic hate crime’ in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania in March 2024.
He writes how:
‘Jewish community members of the Bryn Mawr area in Pennsylvania rallied against antisemitism on Thursday in response to vandalism of local Jewish institutions in recent weeks, according to the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.
A sign in front of Wynnewood synagogue Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El declaring "Our Community Stands With Israel” was vandalized on March 22, and after the sign was replaced, a red swastika was spray painted on it on Saturday night.
"We do not know who did this. We do know that they wanted us to be afraid," said the synagogue leadership in a Sunday statement. "A swastika is not a commentary on the policies of the State of Israel, nor is it a sign of solidarity with Palestinians. It is a symbol of hatred and division. We, the leadership of the synagogue, want everyone to know that we will not give in to either fear or division. We are blessed to live in a society in which hate speech is not tolerated by the police, who are working with us to keep us safe. We are blessed to live in a society where our neighbors of other faiths have already reached out to offer support."
The JFGP condemned the vandalism, saying that they stood with the synagogue and that as levels of antisemitism increased, "we must work together as a community to make it clear that hate has no place here.'
Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El held a special service attended by local leaders on Monday night. Rabbis, cantors, and Jewish educators across the community joined together at the altar to sing Oseh Shalom. Rabbi Ethan Witkovsky said in a sermon that whoever had tagged the sign had failed in their effort to make the community afraid to attend synagogue.
"I want this Shabbat to be the most well-attended Shabbat in Main Line Jewish history because that is how we show that we are not afraid to show up to a synagogue no matter what anyone paints on the sidewalk or a banner," said Witkovsky.’ (1)
The problem with this is that painting a swastika on ‘Our Community Stands With Israel’ sign outside a synagogue is not ‘anti-Semitic’ in any way, shape or form and while Rabbi Witkovsky wants to tell anti-Israel protesters what is – and what is – not acceptable in a typically jewish display of arrogance. The simple fact is that he is no position to dictate ‘acceptable political language’ to opponents of Israel.
However, Rabbi Witkovsky’s strange response to all this was to publicly demand that every available jew attended his Shabbat services which rather suggests that Rabbi Witkovsky has an attendance (and also concomitantly a donation) problem at Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El and is trying to use this alleged incident to fill his pews with new or lapsed attendees.
This means that the answer to the foundational question used by police to investigate such matters – qui bono (i.e., ‘who benefits?’) – is answered by only one person: Rabbi Witkovsky.
Did Rabbi Witkovsky – or a member of his congregation – paint the red swastika their own ‘Our Community Stands With Israel’ sign?
It would seem quite likely in the absence of any evidence such as CCTV or footage of the alleged vandalism which surely must be available given how prone synagogues are to be security conscious in this time of ‘rampant anti-Semitism’.
References
(1) https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-795547