Temple Beth Shalom Thanks Mayor Dolan and Chief of Police Lyle

I write on behalf of Temple Beth Shalom’s Governing Council and membership to express our deep appreciation to Mayor Rob Dolan, Chief of Police Mike Lyle, and the many members of the Melrose community for their vigilant, thoughtful, and caring responses to the recent etching of a swastika into playground equipment at the Roosevelt Elementary School.

Especially at this season of the Jewish High Holidays, this depiction of a symbol of hate-filled destruction in a schoolyard brings to mind the Holocaust, when 1.5 million young children perished among the 6 million Jews singled out by Hitler and the Nazis for eradication.

The Melrose Police department appropriately reported the incident to the ADL and the Melrose Human Rights Commission, and is conducting an ongoing investigation to identify the perpetrators of this act of hate.

The mayor has written in his Blog, “This hateful act is an attack not just on our Jewish friends but on our community as a whole. An attack on any group is an attack on all of us.” We thank him for his call “that parents, grandparents, caregivers, will sit with their children and talk to them about how harmful this act was and the hatred that the swastika represents.”

We are fortunate to live in a city that rejects hate in all forms, and which strives to be one community, open to all. As the Jewish New Year of 5778 commences, we wish for all Melrosians a year of blessings and peace.

Rabbi Arnie Fertig

Temple Beth Shalom

21 E. Foster Street, Melrose