SPOKANE — A Spokane church was vandalized during the Thanksgiving weekend due to its support for Israel.
Plymouth Congregational Church’s electronic sign tells passersby along Walnut Street on Spokane’s South Hill that “We stand with Israel.” But Sunday morning the message had been vandalized with graffiti declaring Israel’s actions in Palestine a “genocide.”
Plymouth Congregational has been outspoken in its support for Israel since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks against the country and the subsequent conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people. The sign had been vandalized with the same message earlier this year.
Church board of ministry moderator Stan Burke said the vandalism will not deter the congregation from speaking out on this issue.
“We support Israel, and we’re going to continue to support Israel. To whoever defaced our sign, we will clean it off and continue to support Israel.”
Before being purchased by the church in the 1960s the building was home to a synagogue, Temple Emanu-El, until it was sold to Plymouth church in the 1960s.
Local pro-Israel activist group Inland Empire for Israel called the vandalism “antisemitic” and called on the Spokane City Council to officially denounce the defacement.
“The attacks on the church are obvious attempts to intimidate and silence any person or group that expresses support for the Jewish people and Israel. If it goes unanswered by citizens and civic leaders others will face similar threats for expressing their opinions,” the group wrote in a Facebook post.
Republican congressman-elect Michael Baumgartner echoed this sentiment, calling the vandalism “antisemitic graffiti.”
“I hope the perpetrators are caught and punished. Spokane has a strong history of its community leaders speaking out against religious based hate. That should continue,” he said in a statement.
Spokane City Councilman Jonathan Bingle said the vandalism was evidence the city needed to do more to protect free speech.
“This is a blatant attack not just on a house of worship but on the freedoms of speech, religion, and expression that are the cornerstone of our nation,” Bingle said in a statement. “The people of Spokane will not tolerate hateful and cowardly attempts to intimidate those who stand for their values and principles.”
The Spokane Police Department did not comment on the incident on Monday.
