A Message to our Community,
This past weekend, a swastika and vile, antisemitic words were found scrawled on the asphalt of Brookside Elementary School. The crime occurred sometime after school on Friday until the time of the call reporting it at approximately 8:30 pm Saturday night. The Central Marin Police Authority (CMPA) is investigating this incident as a hate crime, and the Ross Valley School District has addressed it in a communication to the community.
As of now, no suspects have been identified by CMPA. If you have any information that may be helpful in identifying those responsible, please contact CMPA Detective Josh Hamilton at: (415) 927-5150.
To be clear, the swastika is a symbol of hatred toward Jewish people, and it was left where children go to learn and feel safe. We are calling it what it is: antisemitism.
To our Jewish neighbors, and especially to Jewish families at Brookside: we know this is frightening, and that for many of you it echoes things you've faced before. This is your town. You should be able to live as openly Jewish as you choose, at school, at synagogue, at work, and on the street, without fear.
You should not have to face this alone, and you won't. Opposing antisemitism is not a job for Jewish people to do by themselves. It's everyone’s. An attack on Jewish children and residents is an attack on all of us, and we would say the same, by name, if any other neighbor were targeted.
Hatred like this succeeds if we treat it as someone else's problem, or a prank, or not worth the discomfort of speaking up. We won't. We can't prevent every ugly act, but we can decide what follows one. In this community, our Jewish neighbors will not stand alone.
We invite you to join us tomorrow night, Tuesday, October 6, for a short informal gathering at Brookside School. We'll meet at 6:00 PM on the blacktop play area to stand together and show that antisemitism and hate have no home here.
The Town Staff & Town Council of San Anselmo