The famed Congregation Mikveh Israel synagogue in Philadelphia was targeted in three different incidents on Tuesday morning, continuing a trend of apparent anti-semitic attacks in the city.
Congregation Mikveh Israel, one of the oldest synagogues in the country and among the most famous in Philadelphia, was targeted in three different vandal attacks on early Tuesday morning, according to local city authorities. The first of the attacks has been deemed as arson and occurred around 2 am when an individual set fire to a dumpster located directly next to the building, damaging one window in the process. Roughly four hours later, two people were spotted via security footage attempting to break into the front door of the synagogue, damaging a fence around the perimeter and the door itself, but failed to make entry into the building.
Later that day, an unidentified police officer discovered profanity written on a religious statue located around the outside of the synagogue. One suspect was identified by Philadelphia police but has not been taken into custody as of the time of this writing. It’s unclear whether the suspect was one of the two people who attempted to break into the synagogue, or if it’s the same suspect accused of arson. The incident reportedly occurred on Sunday.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, which has previously warned of an increase in anti-semitic incidents in the city, released an official statement condemning the vandal attacks on Congregation Mikveh Israel. “Over the past several months, Congregation Mikveh Israel, one of the nation’s most historic synagogues, has been repeatedly targeted by acts of antisemitic vandalism,” the Federation said. “Let us be unequivocal: these are acts of antisemitism, a vile expression of Jew hatred that threatens not only the Jewish community but the very fabric of our American society.”
The anti-defamation league has warned that anti-Jewish incidents rose sharply in 2023, following a decade of smaller increases that have outpaced other forms of hate crimes. Many cite the ongoing war in Gaza as the root of this, where many blame Israel for retaliating against the terrorist group Hamas for an attack on an Israeli music festival on October 7th, 2023.
Rabbi Yosef Zarnighian spoke to ABC news in Philadelphia about the incident, underscoring the severity, but also highlighting what he called a period of peace for Congregation Mikveh Israel over the last three years. While the synagogue itself had not been violently targeted previously, according to Congregation Mikveh Israel, there were 27 separate hate crimes targeting Jewish people in Philadelphia in 2023, the highest number since 1997, according to a report published by Axios earlier in 2024.