At temple, a reminder of hate

Newton congregation shaken after swastika is painted on sign

A Newton police officer speaks with Rabbi Eric Gurvis (right) near the swastika-marred sign at Temple Shalom in Newton. (Randy H. Goodman for The Boston Globe)

NEWTON - Yesterday was supposed to be a day of prayer and celebration at Temple Shalom in West Newton, but a spray-painted swastika on the sign at its entrance marred the ceremonies.

Some parents and young people on their way to a bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah saw the swastika. Others missed it in the swirl of activity and wondered why police were swarming the area.

Rabbi Eric S. Gurvis decided to address the incident from the pulpit. "There was an audible gasp," he said.

Gurvis said he read several liturgical psalms as planned before the crowd, and then went to another prayer service in the same building and told them what happened before reading passages from Psalms.

"We're preaching for openness, understanding, peace, justice, and tolerance, and here is this act of injustice," he said in a phone interview later. "Even if it was a prank, it's not funny. It's a hate crime."

Newton police did not respond to phone calls yesterday about the incident.

The swastika appeared less than a week after the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht, a two-day anti-Semitic rampage in Nazi Germany that is considered to be the beginning of the Holocaust. Gurvis said the Reform temple had not experienced any similar problems in the 10 years he has been rabbi there.

Newton saw a string of racial and homophobic vandalism between 2001 and 2004. A mural at Bowen Elementary School, one of the city's most diverse schools, was spray-painted with "KKK" and "white power" in 2004. Some suspected that the graffiti was aimed at the black principal, Patricia A. Kelly. No arrests were made in that case.

The same year, racist and homophobic literature was left on the lawns of homes in West Newton. The National Alliance, which is based in West Virginia, claimed responsibility for the literature.

In response to those incidents, Gurvis told the Globe in 2004: "When threats are made, it needs to be responded to. The community needs to stand up as one and say that this has no place in this community, or in any community."

Gurvis, president of the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis, has been outspoken on behalf of racial and religious tolerance. During Rosh Hashana, he urged the congregation to vote and "demand responsibility from our elected leadership" and put aside "the rancor of partisanship."

He has said he wants to build "bridges of understanding" with the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center, a controversial mosque in Roxbury Crossing.

Newton mayor David Cohen went to the temple shortly after he learned about the vandalism from police and stayed for the shabbat prayer service led by Gurvis.

"The Temple Shalom community has been wounded by this event," he said in a phone interview, "and it's important that we all stand together."

Richard Malmberg, pastor of the Second Church of Newton, also joined the prayer services in a show of solidarity with the congregation, according to Gurvis.

Gurvis, who was leaving for Israel yesterday afternoon, said he will formulate a plan for how to handle the vandalism that will coincide with Thanksgiving.

As for the young people who came for Julia Goldberg's bat mitzvah party yesterday, none seemed to let the incident ruin their fun. Throngs of attendees lined up for food and the music of a jazz ensemble filled the hall.

Sixteen-year-old David Small from Brookline said the graffiti "opened old wounds," but he wants to believe that it was done by someone who didn't realize the magnitude of the statement the graffiti made.

He said the incident brought the gathering closer together.

His father, Jonathan Small, agreed. "It's an important time for coming together to celebrate. Even in the face of apparent hatred."

Megan Woolhouse can be reached at mwoolhouse@globe.com.

Correction: Because of a reporting error, Temple Shalom in Newton was incorrectly described in a story in yesterday's Metro section. It is a Reform synagogue