From Maryland synagogue defaced with graffiti
Zev Stub is the Times of Israel's Diaspora Affairs correspondent.
US Jewish community officials are outraged after antisemitic graffiti was discovered yesterday at Congregation Shaare Tefila in Olney, Maryland.
The synagogue’s entrance sign was spraypainted with the letters “AZAB” — a slur understood to stand for “All Zionists are bastards” — and a swastika. The same acronym was also spraypainted on a banner declaring support for Israel, and on another one that read, “Hate has no home here.”
The vandalism is believed to have taken place early yesterday morning.
“All Zionists Are Bastards.”
Antisemitic graffiti bearing a swastika and the acronym “AZAB” was spray-painted on Shaare Tefila Congregation in Olney, Maryland ????????.
When people insist, “It’s not antisemitism, it’s just about Israel,” remember this: if it were only about Israel,… pic.twitter.com/HRAE1MZhST
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) February 10, 2026
Following the incident, the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington says it is “appalled.”
“One of the signs defaced included a ‘Hate Has No Home Here’ poster, an act meant to sow divisiveness and threaten the local Jewish community,” the organization says in a statement. “We call on our community and allies to continue making it clear that antisemitism and hate have no place in Greater Washington.”
The group says it is in close contact with local law enforcement, and encourages community members to continue reporting any incidents or concerns.
Antisemitic attacks have continued to mar American Jewish life since the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza. Almost one-third of American Jews reported being the target of an antisemitic incident last year, according to a recent survey by the American Jewish Committee.
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