Springfield, MO – Vandals damaged a Springfield Synagogue.
The vandals shattered windows and ripped a sign from the front of the Children of Jacob building located near Seminole and Fremont. When Rabbi Jeffery Friedman went to work Tuesday morning, he found shattered glass and other damage left behind by those vandals. He says seeing things like this hurt, though he’s not surprised.
“Not unexpected,” said Rabbi Friedman. “A little disappointed, but not unexpected.”
When Messianic Rabbi Friedman saw the damaged windows, he thought it was just another instance of kids being kids, a situation they run into quite a bit, until he looked a little harder.
“I didn’t think much of it,” said Messianic Rabbi Friedman. But then, when I found the signs, it was obviously more than that. Even a little graffiti I would have questioned but this was ripped off a brick wall and dragged halfway down the block. S,o at that point, I thought this was perhaps a little bit more than just simple kids doing vandalism.”
It’s a situation that members of the Jewish faith have been seeing across the country in the wake of the October 7th terrorist attack on Israel. According to the Anti-Defamation League, antisemitic crimes have soared 337% since the attack. A situation that Rabbi Friedman says they were hoping to avoid
“When we moved here, I knew that we were opening ourselves up to the possibility that there might be some kind of blowback,” said Messianic Rabbi Friedman. “Now people can see there are Jewish symbols out there. And sure enough, it happened. I think, probably, the war did have something to do with it. It has brought out this ancient ailment of antisemitism everywhere. And even in Springfield, which I do love. I love this place.”
The synagogue takes security seriously. Members of the congregation are armed with concealed weapons permits along with panic buttons to alert police if they need to. Messianic Rabbi Friedman also says they’ll install more outdoor cameras after the damage. But after all that’s happened, he says his congregation has been receiving an outpouring of support.
“We have received emails, texts, Facebook messaging, all offering support, encouragement, very moving,” said Messianic Rabbi Friedman. “It elicits an emotional reaction that people do care. We should never feel that we’re alone. Because people do care about us.”
The Springfield Police Department confirmed an investigation is underway. It asks anyone with information to come forward. Messianic Rabbi Friedman says offices will give members of the congregation a safety training course, adding that if anyone has questions about the Jewish faith to give them a call – saying those willing to learn will be welcomed with open arms.
