USA – Taunton synagogue vandalized with swastikas and slurs

The front entrance to Agudath Achim Synagogue in Taunton, located on Winthrop St., was vandalized with a swastika, in addition to assorted hate speech on other sides of the building. Photo taken June 19, 2023. Daniel Schemer

Taunton, MA – The Taunton Police Department is searching for the person responsible for spray painting a synagogue.

The Agudath Achim Synagogue has been a fixture in Taunton for more than 40 years, and during that time, the Jewish congregation had no trouble at all.

That was until last Friday afternoon when someone vandalized the building.

“When I arrived, about 8:45 on Saturday I was met here by some other people who discovered that there was a swastika painted on the front of the building right in front of the flag,” said Michael Novick, co-chair of the synagogue’s Board of Directors.

Synagogue leaders quickly moved to cover the offensive symbol up because a 13-year-old girl was on her way to her bat mitzvah.

“There’s really never a good time but this was the worst time for this kind of thing to happen,” Novick added.

    Taunton detectives were back at the Agudath Achim on Tuesday to get another look at the damage.

    The temple is helping with the investigation by giving police access to its security cameras.

    The suspected vandal was dressed in black and wore a face mask.

    The person spent 30 minutes on the property and left behind some words so offensive, we can’t show them on air or online.

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