One of the oldest synagogues in the United States was targeted by vandals three times Tuesday, including by attempted Arson, officials said.
Congregation Mikveh Israel, which was first founded in the 1740s in Philadelphia, was damaged after a dumpster was lit on fire around 2 on Tuesday morning.
According to the Philadelphia Police Department, a man torched the dumpster directly next to the synagogue located in Center City, causing damage to a window.
The fire marshal deemed the incident to have been an act of Arson, but no arrests have been made yet, police told NBC News.
Police described the suspect, who was caught on video, as a “white male, thin build with facial hair, wearing a blue hat, gray sweatshirt, blue jeans, gray sneakers and a backpack.”
Just a few hours later, at about 6:30 am, video surveillance caught two individuals trying to break into the synagogue. Police said the suspects damaged a fence and a door but did not enter the building.
Law enforcement described the suspects as two white men and did not connect them to the Arson attempt from earlier in the morning.
At about 12:10 pm, police again responded to a report of vandalism at the synagogue. Officers found a religious statue with profanity written across it in marker. Police have not yet described the suspect and the investigation is ongoing.
Local Jewish leaders said Tuesday’s incidents were just the latest in a trend of anti-Semitism in the city.
“Over the past several months, Congregation Mikveh Israel, one of the nation’s most historic synagogues, has been repeatedly targeted by acts of anti-Semitic vandalism. Yesterday, these hateful attacks escalated into attempted arson,” a statement from the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia said Wednesday.
The group, which describes itself as providing support for Jewish people and organizations in need, said the Tuesday incidents were “a vile expression of Jew hatred that threatens not only the Jewish community, but also the very fabric of our American society.”
The synagogue, which refers to itself as the “Synagogue of the American Revolution,” is the oldest continuously operated synagogue in the United States, with “deep ties to Philadelphia’s and our nation’s founding,” the statement said.
The federation called on public officials to stand united in condemning “this abhorrent hatred.”
“To those who seek to harm us: know that we will not stand idly by, shaken or fearful,” the statement said.
Philadelphia police asked that anyone with information on the three acts of vandalism come forward as the investigations continue.