Vandalism, antisemitic graffiti found at several Montgomery County schools

ROCKVILLE, Md. - Authorities are investigating after multiple incidents of vandalism and antisemitic graffiti were discovered at Montgomery County schools.

Thomas Taylor, superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools, said that the politically-charged graffiti, antisemitic iconography, including swastikas, and some anti-LGBTQ+ language was found on four school campuses Monday.

Police say calls were received for the following locations:

- Strathmore Elementary School at 9:15 a.m.

- Fallsmead Elementary School at 9:24 a.m.

- Churchill High School at 6:26 a.m.

- Wootton High School at 7:35 a.m.

Taylor said it was disheartening that many teachers found their schools vandalized with hateful messages upon returning from summer break. He made a call to unite against the hate.

Antisemitic graffiti at Bethesda Elementary School

Montgomery County Police are investigating after anti-Semitic and pro-Palestinian graffiti was discovered outside Bethesda Elementary School Sunday morning.

"We are committed to maintaining a safe, inclusive environment where all students, staff, and caregivers feel safe, valued, seen, heard and have a sense of belonging," Taylor said in a post on X. "We firmly denounce divisive actions that perpetuate hate, inequality, and injustice against any person, family, or community. We must unite to recognize and embrace our differences and not let them divide us."

"It is no accident that the perpetrators of these incidents have defaced schools that are located in neighborhoods with high concentrations of Jewish residents and have significant numbers of Jewish students and faculty members," said Guila Franklin Siegel, chief operating officer of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington in a statement. "These schools are also blocks away from multiple synagogues. This pattern of behavior — in impact and almost certainly in design — targets Montgomery County’s Jews. In doing so, it causes tremendous harm not only to Israelis and Jews, but to our entire shared community. We are confident that people of goodwill across all backgrounds and faiths will see these acts for what they are: hateful words designed to tear our communities apart rather than bring them together."

On August 11, police say antisemitic and pro-Palestinian graffiti was discovered outside Bethesda Elementary School. The graffiti included vulgar messages denigrating Israel and other messages like "Free Gaza."

All incidents remain under investigation.