'No place for this kind of hatred and bigotry': Swastikas found painted on Wayland road

WAYLAND - Two pieces of antisemitic graffiti were discovered Tuesday painted on Rice Road, authorities said.

There are no suspects, according to acting Police Chief Ed Burman.

A driver on Rice Road reported finding a swastika spray-painted around 8:50 a.m., Burman said. When officers arrived, they found a second one about a half-mile away, also on Rice Road.

Burman said the two swastikas were painted in a wooded area of Rice Road and weren't in front of any homes or other buildings. He said they were both approximately 3 feet by 3 feet.

The acting chief said the Department of Public Works came out and covered the paint.

"There is no place for this kind of hatred and bigotry in our community," said Burman. "Every resident deserves to live their life free of harassment and hatred, and we will do everything in our power to support our community."

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Town Manager Michael McCall agreed.

"We do take this very seriously and that's why we made an effort to get out and cover it up," he said. "We're going to look at the best way to address this on a community level."

The police contacted the Anti-Defamation League of New England after the incident. Regional Director Jonah Steinberg said this is the third incident of antisemitism in Wayland in just the past month.

He said in recent weeks, there had been a report of Wayland Middle School students making the Nazi salute and there were anti-Israel signs posted along major roads in town.

"It really seems Wayland should take some time to reflect," said Steinberg. "In this particularly troubling time, for people to pile on this and menace the Jewish community and bring hate to the community is troubling. It's really taking the side of the extreme atrocities that Hamas committed on Oct. 7."

Steinberg said there has been a large increase in antisemitic crimes, particularly since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas and the Israel-Hamas war started.

"Our office is getting more calls at this time by an order of magnitude that we don't track since last year," he said.

This is not the first incident of antisemitism in MetroWest this month. On Nov. 2, someone etched a swastika into dirt at the softball field behind the Quinn Middle School, Hudson police said.

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Danny Burkeman, senior rabbi at Temple Shir Tikva in Wayland, said it was "very disappointing" to see the antisemitic graffiti on Tuesday and the past incidents.

"Incidents of antisemitic hate have been rising across the country and Wayland is not immune to that," said Burkeman. "Unfortunately, we're seeing these types of incidents taking place in a lot of local towns. It's disconcerting, scary and unsettling for the members of the Jewish community."

Although antisemitism targets Jewish people, Burkeman said hate and prejudice should be rejected by everyone.

"What the Jewish community would really like to see is that it's not just the Jewish community that is speaking out about these types of incidents," said Burkeman. "These types of incidents should be rejected and condemned by everyone, not just members of the Jewish community."

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What if you know something about the swastikas on Rice Road

Police ask that anyone with information about the incident or may have seen anything suspicious to call them at 508-358-4721 or call the anonymous tip line at 508-358-1726.

Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wicekdlocal.com. For up-to-date public safety news, follow him on Twitter @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Antisemitic graffiti found on Rice Road in Wayland, MA: What we know