Pittsburgh rabbi’s home targeted by anti-Israel vandal

“This is America in 2025,” he said.

Rabbi Daniel Fellman wasn’t surprised to find his “We Stand With Israel” sign vandalized the morning of July 31. It has been a frequent target of attacks.

“We’ve had that sign in the yard since the first rally (after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack in Israel),” said Fellman, senior rabbi of Temple Sinai. “That was almost two years ago, and we’ve had to replace it 20 to 25 times.”

This was the first time, though, a vandal switched the sign with one displaying a different message.

Fellman said he had recently placed a new, clean sign in his yard. When he looked at the sign on his way out the door the morning of July 31, he noticed his fresh, unsoiled sign was replaced with an older, dingy sign. In place of the word “Israel,” someone had taped a piece of paper that read “Genocide,” altering the sign to read, ”We Stand With Genocide.”

Fellman isn’t sure if he was targeted because of his leadership role in the community. He is, however, certain that polite conversation has given way to vandalism and harassment.

“This is America in 2025,” he said.

And while he isn’t happy about the turn from civil discourse, Fellman said he isn’t putting his head in the sand, either.

“The only way through is to hold your head up and walk through it,” he said.

Security measures, Fellman said, continue to be reviewed after each incident, both at his home and at Temple Sinai and Rodef Shalom Congregation — the two congregations recently approved plans to unite.

“Our security costs have gone way up and rabbis are having to secure their homes in way we never imagined,” he said.

Shawn Brokos, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s community security director, urges anyone whose signs or property were vandalized to report it to law enforcement and the Federation.

Fellman’s home isn’t the only residence that has been repeatedly targeted since Oct. 7.

North Side resident Deena Blumenfeld’s property has been targeted with antisemitic graffiti, and people have spat on her Israeli flag. Last year, the phrases “We demand blood” and “For Blood and Soil” were painted on the sidewalk outside of the home she shares with her family, and anti-Israel literature was left inside her front door.

Blumenfeld testified on July 28 in magisterial district court at a preliminary hearing for Michael Walter Lawlor, who was charged with stalking, harassment, ethnic intimidation, disorderly conduct and criminal mischief.

Lawlor was captured on camera spitting on Blumenfeld’s Israeli flag eight times over the course of two weeks.

In some ways, Fellman seems an unlikely target for anti-Israel activists. While he hasn’t shied away from his support of Israel, and has blamed Hamas for the war, he also has expressed concern for Palestinian victims.

“The first Shabbat after Oct. 7, I stood up and said, ‘This was a terrible thing and a whole lot of people are getting screwed, including the Palestinian people. Hamas is the problem,’” he said.

Still, Fellman is taking the vandalism in stride.

“It comes with the territory,” he said. “I’m not going to be intimidated by it.”

Anyone who has witnessed anything suspicious can report it to the Federation. PJC

David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.