A shul in Tucson was vandalized on Tuesday; the perpetrator(s) wrote the phrases “End Apartheid” and “Abolish Israel.”
State Representative Alma Hernandez, a woman of the Jewish faith, publicized the attack in an X post on Tuesday. Hernandez said a rabbi, Yehuda Ceitlin, reported the vandalism to her.
“Anti-Zionism is Antisemitism, period and this hate is NOT welcomed in Tucson!” said Hernandez. “I will continue to stand with my Jewish community. This is a synagogue NOT a political office. Shameful that it’s 2025 and we keep seeing this vile targeting of the Jewish community.”
Ceitlin reported in an X post of his own that Tuesday’s attack was the second of its kind in three years against a Chabad Jewish center in Tucson.
“This hate must stop!” stated Ceitlin.
This is the second time in 3 years that a Chabad Jewish center in Tucson is being vandalized with antisemitic graffiti.
This hate must stop! https://t.co/o5VcheiCTZ
— Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin (@YehudaCeitlin) April 22, 2025
With a new administration in place, this alleged attack of antisemitism likely falls under the purview of federal investigators.
In January, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing an effort to combat antisemitism.
Trump ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate not only threats of terrorism and acts of arson or violence, but also any vandalism that occurs.
“I will issue clear orders to my Attorney General to aggressively prosecute terroristic threats, arson, vandalism and violence against American Jews,” said Trump in his executive order.
The order also required federal executive departments and leaders to report all criminal and civil authorities and actions available for fighting anti-Semitism.
“My promise to Jewish Americans is this: With your vote, I will be your defender, your protector, and I will be the best friend Jewish Americans have ever had in the White House,” said Trump.
Last year, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) documented over 9,300 antisemitic harassment, vandalism, and assault across the country — a five percent increase from the over 8,800 incidents in 2023.
Of those thousands of incidents, about 120 occurred in Arizona. The majority occurred in New York (over 1,400 incidents) and California (over 1,300 incidents).
The 120 incidents last year marked a slight decline in incidents from 2023, where about 160 occurred: an average of 1.61 incidents per 100,000 residents. Even with the slight decline from 2023 to 2024, the number of incidents last year were well over double what occurred in 2022 (about 50 incidents).
ADL said this five percent increase marked a total 344 percent increase over the past five years and a nearly 900 percent increase over the past decade. ADL has issued an annual report on antisemitic attacks since 1979. The recent years’ increase in incidents marked the highest number to occur since the ADL’s first year of tracking.
Last year, there were over 6,500 reported incidents of harassment, over 2,600 incidents of vandalism, and nearly 200 incidents of assault nationwide.
Per the ADL, the significant rise in antisemitic incidents directly following the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel in October 2023.
The rise in antisemitism in public spaces and college campuses prompted Arizona State University (ASU) to partner with the ADL. Earlier this month, ASU and ADL put on a conference addressing antisemitism: Rising Above Together.