Congregation Beth Israel Reports Antisemitic Vandalism To Police, FBI

PORTLAND, OR — Portland police and the FBI were looking for the person or people responsible for vandalizing Congregation Beth Israel in northwest Portland, police said.

The attack happened sometime Sunday or early Monday morning.

People arriving at work on Monday discovered what was left of a small fire outside the building as well antisemitic graffiti on the side of the building, according to police. The grafitti contained a threat and used the German word for Jews.

The attack was first reported by The Oregonian.

The synagogue is the area's oldest, built in 1859, the year that Oregon became a state.

The Oregon Department of Justice said that the attack was part of an increasing trend in hate crimes reported in the state over the past three years.

As of April 30, it had received reports of 270 separate hate crime incidents. In 2020, there were 271 reported incidents all year.