Billboards erected in support of vandalized Indiana synagogue
Published August 2, 2018
(JTA) — Billboards were erected in support of an Indiana synagogue that was targeted with anti-Semitic graffiti.
The billboard’s message is “LOVE” with a Star of David inside the “O.”
“We wanted to do something,” Chris Iverson, vice president and general manager of Lamar Advertising, told WISH-TV. “We just wanted to put a positive message out there. We just thought, what’s more positive than love.”
Several local billboards are showing their support for a synagogue that was vandalized in Carmel. @ElizabethChoi8 has more https://t.co/0RjYoHpEGZ
— WISH-TV (@WISH_TV) August 1, 2018
Four billboards, which are also supported by Outfront Media and Fairway Outdoor Advertising, went up Tuesday along two major highways near Carmel, a suburb of Indianapolis.
Another 12 digital billboards with the same message are found throughout the state, according to the report.
A black swastika surrounded by a red background and the German and Nazi Military Iron Cross were painted Saturday morning on a wall at Shaarey Tefilla, a Conservative synagogue near Indianapolis with 200-member families.
Shabbat morning services were held despite the discovery, the synagogue said in a post on Facebook.
On Sunday, Vice President Mike Pence said he was “sickened and appalled” by the vandalism in his home state, where he served as a congressman for 12 years and governor for four years.
The synagogue’s president, Corey Freedman, told WISH-TW that he is grateful for the support.
“For them to take that step and provide that type of support, again, is great,” he said. “I hope that it continues, not just here but throughout the nation.”
Hundreds attended a community solidarity gathering at the synagogue on Monday night.
“An act that intended to express hatred, and probably they hoped to evoke some fear, triggered an outpouring of love and support that wipes away their action better than bleach and fresh paint,” Shaarey Tefilla Rabbi Benjamin Sendrow told the gathering, according to WFYI television.
A GoFundMe campaign was launched on Tuesday to help the synagogue clean up the damage and increase security.
