BANGOR – Teenagers were seen by community members in the act of spray painting a swastika on the street in front of Congregation Beth Israel in Bangor last Thursday night.
The suspects have since been identified, but president of the synagogue Brian Kresge wants to use this incident as a teachable moment.
“Get them to understand a little bit about Jewish history and what that symbol means to us, what the swastika says to us,” said Kresge. “There’s always that sense as Jews that we live on this razor’s edge of security in any society. We have it really good here. Bangor, Maine, is just absolutely awesome, but it’s disconcerting, especially with everything else going on right now.”
Kresge said it looks to be a horrible teenage prank, where they probably didn’t fully understand what that symbol means to the Jewish community.
