Hate-Speech, Anti-Semitism Condemned In Tredyffrin

TREDYFFRIN, PA — A resolution condemning anti-Semitism and all other forms of hate based on race, color, religion, origin, sex gender, and disability is on the agenda Monday night of Tredyffrin Township’s supervisors’ meeting.

The issue came to the forefront in March when a 15-year-old Valley Forge Middle student was charged as a juvenile with ethnic intimidation and criminal mischief after graffiti, including racial slurs and swastikas, was discovered at the school.

Subsequently, in April, swastikas were discovered spraypainted in Chesterbrook and behind Gateway Shopping Center.

“Bigotry, violence, hate, and anti-Semitism are completely at odds with the values of Tredyffrin Township and have no place in Tredyffrin Township,” the resolution states.

The resolution noted that innocent lives have been taken in recent years in a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin, the Emanual African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Fla., and the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.

The resolution also calls for state lawmakers to pass legislation to strengthen anti-hate crime laws.

The proposed legislation would expand the laws for ethnic intimidation, give police and colleges tools to fight hate crimes, require offenders to complete diversity training, and educate the public.