Four schools in Montgomery County, Md., which is home to a large Jewish community, were vandalized on Monday with antisemitic graffiti, prompting condemnations from both candidates in the high-profile contest to replace Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD).

Police were called to four different schools in the area on Monday morning to respond to reports of antisemitic messages and iconography being spray painted on their respective properties. The calls were all made within a three-hour timespan, the first coming from Churchill High School in Potomac just before 6:30 a.m. Wootton High School in Rockville made the second call at 7:35 a.m., followed by Strathmore Elementary School in Silver Spring at 9:15 a.m. and Fallsmead Elementary School, also in Rockville, at 9:24 a.m. 

One message read: “Israel Bombs Schools.” Another brandished Hitler’s name next to a swastika. 

Montgomery County Police are investigating the incidents.

A Montgomery County Public Schools spokesperson said on Monday that, “A number of our schools were illegally vandalized with politically charged graffiti, antisemitic iconography (including swastikas), and, in some instances, anti-LGBTQ+ language.”

The spokesperson said that the school district was reaching out to parents to make them aware of the situation, adding that principals were asking staff to report such incidents and to offer “the supportive resources necessary to address the harm and anxiety these actions may have caused.”

“We are committed to maintaining a safe, inclusive environment where all students, staff, and caregivers feel safe, valued, seen, heard and have a sense of belonging. We firmly denounce divisive actions that perpetuate hate, inequality, and injustice against any person, family, or community. We must unite to recognize and embrace our differences and not let them divide us,” the MCPS spokesperson said. 

The incident, which came one week after nearby Bethesda Elementary School was vandalized, was swiftly condemned by local leaders, including the two candidates in the state’s high-profile Senate race.

“Let’s call this what it is — antisemitic vandalism. These acts of hate have no place in Maryland. I will always stand with our state’s Jewish community, and fully support local authorities as they pursue the perpetrators of this abhorrent crime,” former Gov. Larry Hogan, the Republican nominee, wrote on X, formerly Twitter. 

“Hate speech has no place in Maryland and will not be tolerated. I was deeply disturbed and saddened to hear that an individual defaced Montgomery County schools with antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ+ graffiti,” Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, the Democratic nominee, told Jewish Insider in a statement. 

“Our schools are places where our children and our families can come together in learning – hate and vitriol do not belong, and these acts are disgusting. I am grateful to our law enforcement for their quick response, and know they will hold the perpetrators accountable.“To our Jewish friends, family, and neighbors and to our LGBTQ+ neighbors: you belong in Maryland. We will stand together against this hate,” Alsobrooks added.

Guila Franklin Siegel, chief operating officer of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, also denounced the vandalism, noting that it was the “second consecutive week” that Montgomery County schools were facing antisemitic attacks. 

“It is no accident that the perpetrators of these incidents have defaced schools that are located in neighborhoods with high concentrations of Jewish residents and have significant numbers of Jewish students and faculty members,” Siegel said. “These schools are also blocks away from multiple synagogues. This pattern of behavior — in impact and almost certainly in design — targets Montgomery County’s Jews. In doing so, it causes tremendous harm not only to Israelis and Jews, but to our entire shared community.”

“We are confident that people of goodwill across all backgrounds and faiths will see these acts for what they are: hateful words designed to tear our communities apart rather than bring them together,” she added.