Great Barrington — Police are continuing to investigate an anti-Semitic graffiti incident last week at a downtown church.
The Great Barrington Police Department was notified on Sunday that offensive words were scrawled on the Macedonia Baptist Church on Rosseter Street. The graffiti was found Thursday by a church custodian.
The custodian did not share the discovery with church leaders, including Rev. Joallen Forte, until Sunday, Sept. 27, when police were contacted, the town said in a news release Sunday night.
Police Chief Bill Walsh told The Edge the words “Nazi Kyke” were written on the west-side exterior of the church, facing away from Main Street. The church is at 9 Rosseter St., next to the rear entrance of the Salisbury Bank office on Main Street.
“This is very upsetting and a terrible thing to have happened to this wonderful church,” Walsh said. “I have known Rev. Joallen Forte and her family, who have dedicated their lives to ministry and to our community.”
Walsh and one of his officers, Joseph O’Brien, met with church leaders on Sunday evening to discuss the incident and the investigation that had already begun. Walsh said the town has several officers working on the probe. The department has also added more patrols in the neighborhood.
“This incident has saddened and angered me deeply, and I am not alone,” added town manager Mark Pruhenski. “I hope I speak for all our residents in saying that such hateful words are unacceptable on any day — and it’s especially hurtful to be opening this investigation on Yom Kippur.”
Selectboard Chair Steve Bannon, who himself is Jewish, said he was shocked that such language would appear on any building in town, especially a local church. He noted that, in 2017, Great Barrington adopted the Safe Communities Trust Policy, a commitment to anti-discrimination and social justice.
“Not only does Great Barrington not tolerate hateful speech, but especially at this time of such divisiveness in our nation, we stand especially united against bigotry,” said Bannon.
The Macedonia Baptist Church got its start in 1944, holding early services at the Kaufman building attached to the now-demolished Betros market at the intersection of Main and Cottage streets. The church purchased its current building on Rosseter Street in 1957, according to local historian Bernard Drew, author of Great Barrington: Great Town, Great History. Rev. Joseph Forte, its longtime pastor and father of Rev. Joallen Forte, died in 2015.
According to Drew, it became a tradition that Macedonia’s minister would trade pulpits once a year with the Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church just around the corner on Elm Court. The churches also held joint Martin Luther King Jr. Day observances.
Clinton Church Restoration, a nonprofit working to restore and renovate the Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church, sent The Edge the following statement concerning the graffiti incident:
“We were deeply disturbed to learn of the anti-Semitic graffiti found at the Macedonia Baptist Church in Great Barrington over the weekend. We condemn this hateful attack and stand in solidarity with the Jewish community and our friends at Macedonia.
“Acts of hatred and harassment are never acceptable but it is particularly troubling that this occurred during the Jewish High Holy Days. The Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church had a long history of fighting injustice and supporting its interfaith colleagues and we will continue to stand and defend our fellow community members in the face of bigotry.”
It is unclear why someone would scrawl anti-Semitic graffiti on a Baptist church. Rev. Joallen Forte and Rabbi Neil Hirsch of Hevreh of Southern Berkshire could not be reached for comment.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Great Barrington Police Department at (413) 528-0306.
