Community responds to hate crime with unity and love

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring participates in an art project at a CommUNITY rally at the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia.

We are one community, united by love and solidarity and a desire to stand up together against hate.

That was the message from government and religious leaders at a CommUNITY rally at the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia Oct. 14 organized in response to a hate crime.

JCCNV Executive Director Jeff Dannick, JCCNV Board President David Yaffe, and Del. Eileen Filler-Corn.

Nineteen swastikas were spray-painted on the front of the JCCNV building on Little River Turnpike Oct. 6. The police have released a surveillance video of the crime, but no one has been arrested.

“We felt violated,” said JCCNV Board President David Yaffe. “We resolved to quickly move on – to continue to serve as a warm and inclusive community center based on Jewish values and open to all.”

Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax

People from the community flooded the JCCNV with calls of support and solidarity and offers to wash away the hateful graffiti, he said. The “chalk hooligans” drew images on the pavement expressing kindness and love. Local officials and members of the community urged the center to host an event to bring people together in a spirit of love and unity.

In addition to remarks from elected leader and clergy from a variety of faiths, the CommUNITY rally included songs, a video, and an art project. Attendees traced their hands on paper and cut them out for placement on a unity tree.

The CommUNITY rally “reflects the best of who we are,” said Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, a resident of Annandale. Noting that those who joined the rally represented diverse backgrounds and faiths, he said, “We have come together as a community of faith and hope and love.”

A message from the community.

“The way this community responded in the face of hate is a real reflection of strength and resilience of this community and the values you stand for,” said Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring. “No one in Virginia should live in fear or experience discrimination over who they are or how they worship.”

“The JCC is welcoming and inclusive. It’s open to everyone,” said Del. Eileen Filler-Corn. “The hate we saw here was not representative of our community.”

She shared a message from Sen. Tim Kaine, who said, he’s been “so moved by the strength and resilience of this community,” which exemplifies the spirit of America. “We can’t let bigoted actions and anti-Semitism go unanswered and let hate fester.”

“This hatred has no place in Virginia,” said a statement from Gov. Ralph Northam delivered by his director of intergovernmental affairs, Stacey Brayboy. “I am saddened by the reason for this gathering but take heart in the knowledge that you are all united together. I am committed to ensuring Virginia is open and welcoming to all.”

People of all ages contribute hand cutouts to a unity tree at the JCCNV.

“This is not just the JCC. This is our community center,” said Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bulova. “We all come together when one of us has been hurt.”

“One hater is not going to divide this community,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly, who spoke about his recent visits to Auschwitz and Birkenau in Poland. The Holocaust happened not that long ago in a cultured country, where “the public was persuaded to turn a blind eye,” he said. “Hatred like this will never prevail in this community. We are one.”

Among the religious leaders who spoke, Brett Isserow, rabbi emeritus of Beth El Hebrew Congregation and a member of the JCNV board, called for the public to reach out to others of diverse backgrounds “to build a community based on the values of integrity, decency, compassion, and care.”

When Bethlehem Lutheran Church near the JCCNV was vandalized several times this spring with swastikas, racist graffiti, and the destruction of pew cushions, “we had a tremendous outpouring of support, starting with the JCC,” said Pastor Dan Roschke. “We heard loud and clear the same message – what happens to one of our organizations happens to all of us. We are indeed with you.”

“To give a gift is to get love,” said a representative of the Muslim community, Hurunnessa Fariad, outreach coordinator at the ADAMS Center. Her gift is “to display the love we have with our Jewish brothers and sisters.”

“I have seen tremendous support from the Jewish community when our mosques were vandalized,” Fariad said. “No matter what happens, know that we will be right there behind you to protect you with love.”

“We need to not only tolerate each other, not only see each other, we need to see one another in one another,” said Pastor David Lindsay of Little River United Church of Christ.

That church and the JCCNV were both hit with hateful graffiti in April 2017. A young man who lives in Annandale was arrested and is awaiting trial.