Ilana Glazer’s appearance at a synagogue was canceled due to anti-Semitic graffiti
Less than one week after 11 innocent people died in a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue, there has been another incident of hate toward the Jewish community. Broad City star Ilana Glazer was forced to cancel an event at Brooklyn’s Union Temple after anti-Semitic graffiti was found scrawled on the synagogue’s walls.
According to The New York Times, Glazer was supposed to interview two New York State Senate candidates and Amy Goodman, host of the radio show Democracy Now!, at the temple on November 1st. But at about 8 p.m., the comedian told the crowd waiting to enter the building that the event had been canceled due to the discovery of hate speech written on temple walls.
One of the attendees captured part of Glazer’s announcement in an Instagram video. In the clip, the actress stands on a chair and thanks the audience, promising that there will be more events in the future.
"Thank you for coming and caring and for following your curiosity," she told the gathered crowd. "This is action in itself, gathering, and we'll follow up with more, you know, specific action for this weekend."
A public information officer for the New York Police department told People that threats, including “Jews better be ready” and “die jew rats we are here,” were scribbled throughout the inside of the building in black marker. The magazine reports that the incident is currently being investigated by the NYPD’s hate crimes task force. So far, police have not identified a suspect.
On the November 2nd episode of Democracy Now! Glazer further discussed the events of the previous night with Goodman, one of her intended guests. The actress called the incident “straight-up scary,” especially given the recent mass shooting.
"Our president’s words and our politicians’ words, who stand for white supremacy, who stand for violence and aggression, like these words turn into action so quickly," she told Goodman. "We’re seeing that happen now. And especially with no commonsense gun laws, you know, that action can be serious very quickly. And we weren’t going to—we weren’t going to take that risk."
We’re relieved to hear that Glazer and her intended audience are safe, but this is yet another reminder that we must stand up to hate and intolerance in all its forms. If you’re feeling hopeless today, you can find a list of religious tolerance orgs to donate to here. Remember—you can make a difference.
