05/29/2026
In response to racist and anti-Semitic graffiti on the property of a Natick Public School this letter was submitted to the MetroWest newspaper by our friend, colleague Rabbi Danny Burkeman, Temple Shir Tikva.
An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us…
In the shadow of World War Two, Pastor Martin Niemöller wrote his famous passage that begins: “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.” His writings reflected on the silence of so many as the N***s attacked various minority groups within German society. According to Niemoller, these bystanders did not speak out because they were not directly targeted. But as he cautions at the end: “Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”
This has become a famous passage in responding to hate, racism, and antisemitism. It serves as a reminder that we cannot only speak when we are directly attacked, but we must speak out when anyone is attacked. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. famously wrote: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” We cannot choose to speak only when hatred reaches our own doorstep. An attack on any minority community is an attack on the values that hold a democratic society together. And so we must respond to all incidents of hate, racism, and antisemitism.
This does not happen nearly enough in our society. Frequently, it is the targeted group, sometimes with a few allies, who are forced to stand up and be the first responders to the voices of hate. As clergy for the Black and Jewish communities here in Metrowest we have unfortunately been called upon many times to respond to attacks against our respective communities. But we have also always been sure to speak up and speak out when the attack is not against us specifically.
And now, with a recent incident of vandalism in Natick, we have seen both of our communities attacked together. On the wall of an elementary school — a place meant to teach children dignity, belonging, and safety — a sw****ka and an anti-Black racial slur were scrawled side by side. We have long said that an attack on one of us is an attack on both of us. This time, the perpetrators of this crime made that connection explicit.
The graffiti was rightly condemned in a joint statement from the Natick Police Department, Natick Public Schools, and the Town of Natick. The wall was quickly repainted so that the children and their families did not have to see it. But hatred does not disappear as easily as spray paint. And with the repeated attacks that our communities have witnessed in recent years, one does begin to wonder if words are enough. Where is the action ito actually challenge this behavior and these crimes?
The hateful words and symbol have been covered up by purple paint, which while helping to erase the crime, does appear to make it obvious that there is something hiding behind the oddly shaped blocks of paint on the brick wall. And while we of course want those symbols removed as quickly as possible, perhaps this allows our communities to keep moving on too quickly from these incidents of hate. The graffiti is covered and so life moves on, but we, in the communities who were targeted, still carry the pain. The spray paint may be gone, but the scar remains — visible like the uneven blocks of purple paint still covering the wall.
For a long time in responding to racism, antisemitism, and hate we have tried to make it clear that we are all victims of these attacks and so we must all respond together to affirm that there is no place for this type of behavior in our communities. This latest incident has illustrated that the perpetrators of these crimes do not distinguish; their hate is aimed at all of us. They have directly targeted the Black and Jewish communities, but in reality, they are targeting each and every one of us. And in the face of these attacks it cannot just be the Black and Jewish communities who continue to raise the alarm after the statement has been issued and the graffiti removed.
The question before us is not whether Natick condemns hate. The question is whether we are prepared to confront it together before the next wall is marked, the next child is frightened, and the next community is told they do not belong.
The words of Dr King come to mind at a time such as this. "Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly." From his April 1963 "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." The challenge today is not to accept this behavior as "normal" or dismiss it as a childish prank. Hate is a learned value, and when it is on display, it challenges our values as a community. To have this happen at one of our schools speaks volumes about the attack on our centers of learning for our next generation. The slow erosion of our values and what we hold dear is happening before our eyes. To paraphrase Martin Luther King Jr.. “The ultimate measure of a man [or woman] is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stand at times of challenge and controversy. Natick, now is the time to stand up!
