After antisemitic incidents, Arizona faith leaders form anti-hate group

This gathering comes following two incidents of vandalism against synagogues in Tuscon just weeks apart.

The aftermath of an allegedly antisemitic attack at the Chaverim Congregation in Tucson, Arizona on May 18, 2021.  (photo credit: CHAVERIM CONGREGATION/JTA)
The aftermath of an allegedly antisemitic attack at the Chaverim Congregation in Tucson, Arizona on May 18, 2021.
(photo credit: CHAVERIM CONGREGATION/JTA)
Faith leaders from various religious groups united together on Thursday at the Tucson Jewish Community Center in Tucson, Arizona, forming a coalition to stop hate in their local community, local NBC affiliate KVOA reported.
This gathering comes following two incidents of vandalism against synagogues just weeks apart.
One incident, in early June, saw antisemitic graffiti scrawled on the door of a Tuscon Chabad house. The vandalism, which featured a large red swastika and the caption "drity kyke," was first discovered by the Chabad center's director, Rabbi Rami Bigelman, as he was about to deliver a lecture for a Torah class.
Just two weeks prior, an unidentified individual shattered the glass door of the Congregation Chaverim synagogue in Tucson by throwing a large object at it.
It is for this reason these faith leaders have come together to break down barriers and promote using tolerance and love to win out over hate.
"We are of course overwhelmed by the magnitude of everything happening in the world, but if we don't do anything, if we just sit back and ring our hands, that's equality unproductive, so we have to start somewhere," Pastor Bart Smith of St. Mark's Presbyterian Church said, according to KVOA.
"We don't have to finish the task, but we have to start it," Rabbi Sara Metz of Congregation Anshei Israel said, KVOA reported. 
"We cannot desist from it either, and that is the best work that we can do. We have hope, we have love and we have strength in unity."
The Anti-Defamation League reported an increase of 75%, regarding antisemitic incidents – including verbal abuse, vandalism and physical altercations – across the United States as a whole.