The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today strongly condemned the recent vandalism targeting Temple Har Shalom in Park City, Utah.
CAIR expressed solidarity with the Utah Jewish community and welcomed the investigation by local law enforcement, including the consideration of hate crime enhancements.
According to local authorities and media reports, the synagogue’s sign was damaged just prior to the Jewish High Holy Days. The Summit County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident, and law enforcement officials are considering hate crime enhancements for those responsible.
In a statement, Washington, D.C.-based CAIR said:
“We unequivocally condemn this act of vandalism targeting Temple Har Shalom in Park City. Houses of worship must remain safe havens where communities can gather and practice their faith without fear, intimidation, or hostility. We stand in full solidarity with our Jewish neighbors in Utah and across the country against antisemitism and all forms of religious bigotry. We urge law enforcement authorities to conduct a thorough investigation, bring those responsible to justice, and apply appropriate hate crime enhancements.”
Earlier this month, CAIR’s Greater Los Angeles Area (CAIR-LA) condemned the antisemitic neo-Nazi vandalism targeting a synagogue and church in a neighborhood in Ventura, California.
Last month, CAIR condemned the reported vandalism of a West Virginia synagogue with a Nazi swastika and called for a thorough investigation and accountability for those responsible.
CAIR and the American Muslim community stand in solidarity with all those challenging antisemitism, systemic anti-Black racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, white supremacy, and all other forms of bigotry.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, [email protected]; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, [email protected]