An antisemitic flyer with a swastika was hung at the bus stop on Lamberton Drive by Arcola Drive in Silver Spring June 2. The bus shelter is across from Young Israel Shomrai Emunah of Greater Washington.
County Executive Marc Elrich and the county council condemned the “hateful, antisemitic flyers referencing the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust and featuring white supremist tags” that was posted at the bus stop.
“We are shocked and outraged at this blatant attempt to intimidate and put fear into our Jewish community,” they said in a joint statement.
Montgomery County Police is investigating the incident.
“There is no place for hate in the Montgomery County and our community will not tolerate any attempts like this to intimidate religious, racial, ethnic, or minority groups in our County,” they wrote. “Today, we stand united with our Jewish residents, particularly our local Holocaust survivors, their children, and grandchildren.”
County officials will meet with members of the Jewish Community to discuss safety and security and “emphasize that our County stands united against hate.”
Ron Halber, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington executive director, also issued a statement noting that his organization is “deeply disturbed,”
He said, “We appreciate the County Executive’s immediate outreach to the Jewish community and the significant response by law enforcement to identify the perpetrators and reassure our community that security is of utmost concern. We are fortunate to live in a diverse County that has zero tolerance for antisemitism and all forms of hatred.”
The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington tweeted, “We are deeply disturbed by the appearance of a swastika in the Kemp Mill neighborhood of Silver Spring, MD, a center of Montgomery County’s Orthodox Jewish community.” tweeted the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington.
The tweet continued, “This antisemitic and hateful symbol has no place in our society.”
After seeing these flyers I thought of a Mark Twain quote: Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.
These were posted at a bus stop near a synagogue in Silver Spring. May we all find peace & understanding. pic.twitter.com/psafL0v3Z0— Scott Goldberg | Be Kind (@GoldberginMD) June 3, 2022
Our Jewish community will continue to stand strong and resilient in the face of hatred and antisemitism in all its forms. We are working closely with our security team and @mcpnews to keep our community safe and learn more about this incident. pic.twitter.com/u1kNrdt6qT
— The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington (@JFGW) June 2, 2022
