Mayor Gainey, City Council & City Controller Statement On Acts of Jewish Hate
Pittsburgh, PA – Note: An earlier version of this statement was released without City Controller Rachael Heisler as a signatory.
On Monday, July 29, our Jewish neighbors awoke yet again to find their religious and community institutions vandalized. This time it was anti-Semitic graffiti on Chabad of Squirrel Hill and the offices of the Jewish Federation.
As City leaders, let us be clear: Acts of Jewish hate, including vandalism and ethnic intimidation, must stop.
Targeting Pittsburgh’s Jewish residents – damaging property with the intent to make people feel unsafe in their neighborhoods and places of work and worship – is a deplorable act of anti-Semitism and political violence.
To those who would claim this vandalism is a legitimate form of protest, make no mistake: These actions have zero impact on the situation in Israel. They do nothing to bring Israeli hostages home, to ease the suffering of Palestinians, or to halt further escalation of that growing global conflict. No one can claim to support peace and then commit acts that are intended to harass, frighten, and ostracize an entire community.
In the City of Pittsburgh, our top priority is to keep residents safe.
Our Bureau of Police will use every resource at its disposal to identify the perpetrators of Monday’s vandalism and hold them accountable. We will also continue to maintain increased patrols in and around our Jewish communities and institutions – supporting them in every way that we can.
There is no place for Jewish hate, violence, or intimidation of any kind here in Pittsburgh.
Mayor Ed Gainey
Councilmembers Barbara Warwick, Erika Strassburger, R. Daniel Lavelle, Bobby Wilson, Theresa Kail-Smith, Bob Charland, Anthony Coghill, Deborah Gross, Khari Mosley
City Controller Rachael Heisler
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