A Dallas city councilwoman shared photos Sunday after discovering what she considered to be hateful, anti-Jewish symbols and language scrawled across her North Dallas fence in red ink on Saturday.
On Monday, Cara Mendelsohn said the incident made her think about her grandparents, who escaped Poland and came to America.
"They would say to all of us grandkids, this could happen to you, and we would say, 'No. America is a great country. Everybody is welcome. Everybody is safe.' And when I saw it my heart sunk. I thought maybe they were right. Maybe I was too naïve," she said.
Mendelsohn posted on the social media platform X Sunday, quoting a Super Bowl ad about the vandalism of Jewish homes with antisemitic graffiti.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
"Super Bowl ad showing hateful graffiti at a Jewish home - Do you wonder if this really happens?" Mendelsohn wrote at the beginning of her tweet.
"I'm a Jewish elected official in Dallas, and yesterday, my home was defaced with hateful language and red triangles representing Palestine."
Mendelsohn posted multiple images of the graffiti with the repeated phrase 'Baby Killer' drawn all over her wooden fence. There were inverted red triangles which have been associated with Palestinian resistance. There was also a pile of rocks and bricks with red ink smeared all over them, which the councilwoman said symbolize "fake dead babies."
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
"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," her post said.
Hate of all kinds has been on the rise since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
ADL Texas and Oklahoma regional director Stacy Cushing said they had seen a 300% increase nationally, and Dallas is very similar.
"We should all, as the City of Dallas, stand up against hate of any kind, vandalism, harassment, any sort of hate crime. It is unacceptable at home, and we should all stand together for a better, safer community," she said.
Cushing said the ADL has resources online to promote open dialog and constructive conversation.
On Oct. 11, 2023, the Dallas City Council approved a resolution supporting Israel and condemning Hamas. Since then, there have been repeated demonstrations by Palestinian supporters calling for a cease-fire resolution. In January, a group of pro-Palestinian protestors marched and rallied outside Mendelsohn's home.
Mustafaa Carroll, acting director of the Dallas Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) declined comment on Mendelsohn's post Monday saying the national office advised him to stay out of it.
CAIR also has online posts against hate.
At the Oct. 11 meeting, Carroll said Dallas should condemn deaths on both sides of the conflict.
In December, Dallas City Councilman Adam Bazaldua called for a cease-fire resolution which has not been considered.
"I fully support everybody’s right to speak up, have a voice, protest. But there’s a big difference between that and criminal activity. This is what happened," Mendelsohn said.
Her social media post thanked Dallas Police and the FBI for investigating.
The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum issued a statement Monday saying, "The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum strongly condemns the harassment of Dallas City Council member Cara Mendelsohn, which has been ongoing for months and culminated in the vandalism of her home with vile antisemitic graffiti on Saturday."
