When I was a kid, I remember our high school class taking a bus trip to a place called Olney. We were going to see Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” at the Olney Theatre.
I remember how beautiful the ride was on then rural Rte. 108.
I knew a little bit about these Howard County and Montgomery County roads because my aunt and uncle lived in a place called Darnestown. My mom and dad used to love to take back roads and stop at every antique store they could find on the way to Aunt Irma’s house.
I haven’t been back that often along Rte. 108 that often. Rtes. 95 or 29 seem to get me wherever I’m going faster. My aunt and uncle have since passed away.
Anyway, there were certainly enough stories on the Internet covering the horrific display of hate that was spray painted on the walls and sidewalks of Olney’s B’nai Shalom. I had to see it for myself.
When interviewing shul president Debbie Kovalsky in the main sanctuary, I think both of us had this eerie feeling that a presence of evil found this precious shul.
The community, and I mean community. Jews, non-Jews, people of many cultures, nationalities and colors, worked the day before to scrub away the swastikas and the words.
So, I know this is a bad example, but here goes. When Senator Ben Cardin was a Congressman, he’d have to run for re-election every two years. And almost never did he have anyone of consequence to worry about threatening his seat. Yet, Mr. Cardin ran for re-election as if he was in the race of his life. He took even the most inexperienced opponent seriously. I think that here we have Olney’s B’nai Shalom in the middle of a gorgeous suburban town. It seems like the least likely place where hate would exhibit itself in all its spray painted horror.
Yet it did.
What it means is that even Olney can’t be complacent. It has to work even harder to maintain that image of a place where anyone can safely live.
What happens now and in the coming weeks and months is everything. That folks of many different walks of life came together is a wonderful sign.
We cannot take our freedoms for granted. We cannot take it for granted that small town America in a picturesque part of Montgomery County is immune from our worst fears.
B’nai Shalom’s president had a look on her face that I cannot even attempt to describe with words. It was shock, horror, sadness, disappointment and so many other things combined in one expression. The cowards who did this knew that there was further symbolism in defacing a shul in an otherwise quiet suburb.
We have to “get” that too.
B’nai Shalom must heal.
We have to help it heal.
And we can never, let our guard down, anywhere or any place.