Neo-Nazis rally in Orlando, Fla. on Jan. 29, 2022. (Stop Antisemitism via Twitter)

(JTA) — In Orlando, neo-Nazis yelled antisemitic slurs from a highway overpass. In Chicago, a Jewish school and a synagogue were vandalized. In Washington, D.C., a man was arrested and charged with spray painting swastikas on a train station.

The turbulent weekend — which also included a rally in Ottawa against COVID-19 vaccine mandates that featured swastikas — comes just a few weeks after the hostage situation at a Texas synagogue left American Jews feeling vulnerable in their synagogues.

A video of the Orlando rally that spread on social media on Monday showed protesters standing on a highway overpass in front of banners of swastikas. One audibly yells “Heil Hitler.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The Orlando Sentinel reported that the group shouted other antisemitic slurs, and an array of Florida officials, including Republican Sen. Rick Scott and Democratic House Rep. Val Demings, condemned the gathering.

The highway overpass location resembled similar demonstrations in Austin, Texas, in October in which a group called the Goyim Defense League hung a sign that said “Vax the Jews” from an overpass.

Nazi rally over I4 in Orlando pic.twitter.com/0tIHYxgF97

— Jake Wears (@jakewears) January 30, 2022

On Sunday afternoon, a Jewish school and synagogue in Chicago’s West Ridge neighborhood were vandalized. Graffiti was sprayed on the F.R.E.E. Synagogue, and a window was smashed at Yeshivas Meor Hatorah Of Chicago, where a cargo container was also painted on. The suspect also apparently tackled someone to the ground before running away, according to the local ABC news station.

Debra Silverstein, a local alderman whose office is located next to the synagogue, said police were still investigating the incidents. “No official pronouncement has been made on a possible motive, but these have all the hallmarks of hate-based crimes,” she said.

In Washington, D.C., police arrested a 34-year-old man named Geraldo Pando who was suspected of spray painting several swastikas around the entrance to Union Station, an Amtrak station near Capitol Hill, early Friday morning. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser responded to the incident in a tweet.

“This symbol of hate displayed in our city is both shocking and unsettling, particularly on the heels of International Holocaust Remembrance Day,” she wrote.

—
The post Nazis rally in Orlando and vandalism reported at Chicago synagogue as American Jews remain on high alert appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount