Pasadena Now5%
Community Mural Created in Response to Antisemitism Defaced at Pasadena Synagogue 16%
By Candice James29%
7/24/2026, 7:35:00 AM
Keywords: Pasadena, Synagogue, Mural, Antisemitism, Vandalism, Hate Crime, Religious Freedom, Community, Resilience
BS Summary: This article contains 11 faulty reasoning types, including Framing Effect, Optimism Bias, and Sunk Cost Effect, with In-Group Bias as the most egregious example at 17% saturation with 68 hits. Analysis detected 476 faulty-reasoning hits from 400 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 31.8% and a BS Rank of 16% (18,478 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 84.40% of the article peer group.
Antisemitic graffiti was discovered Friday morning on a community mural at Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center (PJTC), a work painted this spring in response to an earlier antisemitic attack at the same site, according to a spokesperson for the congregation.
The vandalism included multiple swastikas and anti-Zionist messages spray-painted across the mural, according to the synagogue.
The synagogue's campus was destroyed in the Eaton Fire.
Congregants driving past the property about 8:15 a.m. on their way to summer day camp with their 10-year-old daughter were the first to notice the graffiti, the congregation said.
The Sheriff’s Department responded Friday morning, documented the vandalism and has opened an investigation, according to PJTC.
Congregation leaders said they are working with local, county and federal law enforcement, as well as private Jewish security organizations, and are preparing next steps for restoring the mural.
“We are outraged by this deplorable and shameful act,” said Rabbi Josh Ratner, the congregation's senior rabbi.
“But we will not let this vandalism, nor the vandalism that preceded it, define us.
PJTC remains committed to rebuilding, to the safety and prosperity of our community, and to living our Jewish values openly and without fear.”
The mural was completed May 2 during a community painting day, the congregation said.
It was created in direct response to antisemitic graffiti that defaced one of the last remaining walls of the synagogue in January 2026, days after the congregation commemorated the first anniversary of the Eaton Fire.
Rather than allowing hate to define the site, the congregation partnered with muralist Miriam Hellmann (https://www.miriamhellmann.com/), the Art Over Hate Collective (https://www.artoverhatecollective.org/), the Sparks of Kindness Youth Fund (https://www.skyfundla.org/) and students from its religious school to transform an act of hatred into a symbol of hope, resilience and healing for the Altadena community.
“This mural was created after the Eaton Fire as a message of hope and solidarity for the entire Altadena community,” said Melissa Levy, the congregation's executive director.
“There is something particularly cruel about choosing a wall created to bring people together after devastating loss and using it as a canvas for hate.
But we responded to hate with hope before, and we will do it again.”
Founded in 1921, Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center is affiliated with the Conservative movement and serves more than 430+ member families across the San Gabriel Valley.
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100%flagged-word coverageMelissa Levy
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