DALLAS — A member of Dallas City Council says her home was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti this past weekend.
Cara Mendelsohn shared photos on X, the social media site previously known as Twitter, that show graffiti spray-painted on her fence.
She said she was targeted because she is Jewish.
“I’m a Jewish elected official in Dallas and yesterday my home was defaced with hateful language and red triangles representing Palestine. It included a disgusting pile of rocks and bricks and fake dead babies,” Mendelsohn wrote.
“It’s unimaginable to me how our country has changed in the last 40 years. Folks, you’re going to need to stop sitting on the sidelines thinking everything will be ok. Things are not ok,” Mendelsohn continued.
Mendelsohn said the Dallas Police Department and the FBI are “working to address this crime.”
The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum released a statement condemning the vandalism and said that Mendelsohn has been targeted for months.
“This is part of a horrendous worldwide surge in antisemitism which has particularly and cruelly targeted Jewish students in our secondary schools and colleges in the U.S. Democracy depends on the peaceful engagement of all its citizens. We must safeguard our democracy and ensure that no one is targeted for their religious or political beliefs or for fulfilling their duties as elected officials,” the statement reads.
“We condemn hatred in every form and must find ways to peacefully disagree. We must find ways to have civil discourse to address the complex issues we face locally, nationally, and internationally. Bullying, harassing, assaulting, and attacking those with whom we disagree are never the solution. We cannot stand for this, and we must be better than this,” the statement continues.
A national survey released on Tuesday says two-thirds of American Jews feel less secure in the U.S. than they did a year ago.
The American Jewish Committee, a prominent advocacy organization, conducted the survey last fall just as the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7. The number of American Jews who say they feel less secure in the U.S. jumped 22% from last year’s survey.
The Anti-Defamation League in March 2023 released data from the Audit of Antisemitic Incidents that put Texas at fifth in the nation for recorded antisemitic incidents in 2022. That was an 88% increase from 2021.
“We are extremely concerned with the explosion of hate and antisemitism in our state,” ADL Austin Regional Director Jackie Nirenberg said in 2023. “We must work together as a community to address hate and bigotry in all forms, and we invite every Texan to join us.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.