It was only a few short weeks ago that our Dayton Jewish community shared the pain of a synagogue whose windows were shattered in Lima, Ohio. Now, we are anguished to see similar acts in our own backyard—on Friday, February 28th, the windows of the Islamic Society of Greater Dayton’s Al-Rahman Mosque were broken by a vandal. Investigation into this event is ongoing; however, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) of Cincinnati has called on local law enforcement authorities and the FBI to treat this as a hate crime. As members of the Jewish community, we recognize that the malicious destruction of any house of worship is—by its very nature—hateful, and that it represents an attempt to break down that which makes us most strong: our diversity.

We send our concern and support to Dayton’s entire Muslim community. We pray that they recover from the material and psychological toll of this attack both quickly and fully.

Rabbi Ari Ballaban
JCRC Director

Bruce Feldman
Board President
Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton

Cathy Gardner
CEO
Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton