After the Swastikas, Non-Jewish Residents Stand Up for Their Jewish Neighbors

In early March, residents of Upper Moreland, a small township near Philadelphia with only 26,000 residents, were shocked when spray-painted swastikas appeared on their local elementary and middle schools. An 18-year-old allegedly spray-painted the hateful imagery and vulgar messages on the schools on March 8 and was arrested and charged the following week.

Like her neighbors, Tobie Schupack, a proud Jew who is active in her synagogue, was stunned by the open display of antisemitism. After all, this was a small town – nothing like that had ever happened there. Only a handful of Jews live there. When she sent her children to the local high school, there were just three or four other Jewish kids.