A synagogue in south Minneapolis was forced to close in-person programs over the weekend after antisemitic messages were discovered at a bus stop nearby. The Temple Israel Reform congregation said they had moved to online Zoom programming on Sunday out of caution after anti-Jewish statements were discovered Saturday evening. The building later reopened on Monday, KSTP reported. The graffiti was found less than a miles from Temple Israel and included a bus stop bench that was covered in antisemitic messages. The city’s transit police were contacted on Saturday night about the bus shelter. Police reported that besides antisemitic statements, the vandalism included specific threats to Temple Israel. Related articles: Man spotted with gun outside Minnesota synagogue is arrested Minneapolis calls for ceasefire in Gaza Minneapolis to be first US city to allow Muslim calls to prayer Minneapolis councillor apologizes for antisemitic posts The graffiti has since been removed from the bus stop. “It has always existed in this world. It’s not something new. The question is what we’re going to do about it,” Rabbi Sholom Brook of Chabad Young Jewish Professionals told the news outlet. He added that the solution was to spread acts of kindness. “It’s really our job to spread the light, spread hope and spread goodness and kindness,” Brook said. “One more action of goodness and kindness will really tip the scale of the world and shine through any darkness and any hate that is harbored in any individual or any group.”
