(JTA) – Police in Washington, D.C. have arrested a man in connection with an antisemitic attack outside a synagogue Sunday morning in the district’s Georgetown neighborhood.
A statement from law enforcement says that Brent Wood, 33, is suspected of having sprayed an unknown substance on two people outside Kesher Israel Congregation, a prominent Modern Orthodox synagogue also known as The Georgetown Synagogue, “while shouting an anti-Semitic phrase.” The phrase, according to local news reports, was, “Gas the Jews.”
The attack came the same weekend as a new spate of bomb threats targeted hundreds of synagogues across the United States, heightening worries for American Jews as the Israel-Hamas war continues to stoke antisemitism globally. In recent weeks there were shots fired at a synagogue and preschool in Albany, New York, and false bomb threats made at synagogues in Orange County, California, among other incidents.
Wood has been charged with simple assault and resisting arrest, and police said they are “investigating this offense as being motivated by hate or bias.” The suspect’s last known address was in Toledo, Ohio, police said.
The victims themselves were not injured, and it is unknown if they were congregants. In a statement, Kesher Israel Rabbi Hyim Shafner told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency the attack demonstrated why Jewish communal organizations need increased security funding.
“Every American should feel safe in their place of worship, and I am deeply disturbed by increased frequency and intensity of antisemitic incidents targeting our congregation,” Shafner said. “We thank God no one was seriously hurt, but this event further demonstrates why Jewish people are feeling unsafe in their institutions. All too often, the burden of protecting ourselves falls to our congregants. We need government and law enforcement to further strengthen their partnerships with Jewish communities, including by providing additional funding for security personnel and infrastructure. And we urge the wider community in joining us in speaking out against these hateful attacks.”
“There is simply no excuse for these antisemitic acts. None of this is normal and no one should think this is okay,” the Anti-Defamation League said in a statement to local news outlets condemning the attack.
Update (12/19/23): This story has been updated with comment from Kesher Israel Rabbi Hyim Shafner.
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