Video: Police investigating vandalism of Acton family’s Israeli flag display
Resident Kurt Schwartz told The Acton Bridge that the recent incidents were “flagrant and intimidating acts of antisemitism.”
Police are investigating after a person was caught on video knocking down Israeli flags and pulling up signs at a memorial display for victims of the October 7 attacks, officials confirmed Monday.
Last Saturday’s vandalism, which officials termed a “possible hate incident,” followed the discovery of sidewalk graffiti in front of the same Acton Center site on July 30.
“We condemn these acts in the strongest possible terms,” town leaders said in a written statement.
The Schwartz family filled a swath of land they own off Sudbury Road, across from the Acton Free Public Library, with more than 1,000 small flags shortly after the Hamas terrorist group launched its attack on Israel in 2023.
Kurt Schwartz told The Acton Bridge in an email that the recent incidents were “flagrant and intimidating acts of antisemitism.”
Schwartz said he and his wife, Susan, have maintained the flags as a memorial for the more than 1,200 people killed on October 7 and a show of solidarity with Israel. Hamas took more than 250 people as hostages during its attack.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have died during Israel’s resulting military action in Gaza, prompting widespread criticism of the Israeli government.
Schwartz said his family’s memorial has drawn support from many people. It has also “received expressions of anger and protest that are non-criminal and permitted First Amendment expressions,” he said.
But several incidents have crossed the line, Schwartz said — and the two cases in recent weeks “are the most troubling.”
Outside Acton, Jewish people have been subject to violent attacks, including a deadly assault in Boulder, Colorado, and the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, D.C. earlier this year.
“We are very concerned that anti-Israel protests are becoming increasingly threatening and violent around the world and that protestors are turning on Jews and expressing themselves through intimidation and criminal acts,” Schwartz said.
Schwartz gave The Bridge surveillance video of this weekend’s incident. The video confirmed the town’s description of events, with an unidentified person seen walking onto the Schwartz’s property, trampling flags and uprooting signs.
He also provided photos of the July 30 graffiti — chalk messages that included phrases like “We don’t want no Zionists here, and “Genocide supporters live here.”
Town leaders have faced persistent calls to address antisemitism since a federal complaint filed earlier this summer alleged widespread, unaddressed anti-Jewish abuse in Acton schools.
In between the July 30 graffiti and this weekend’s incident, police launched a separate investigation into anti-Black graffiti on a picnic table in the Baker Avenue area of West Acton.
That racist message was reported to police on August 13. Police Capt. Brian Goldman confirmed the West Acton investigation was ongoing as of Monday morning.
Schwartz said police identified the person behind the sidewalk chalk graffiti.
Town officials urged anyone with information about the sign vandalism or the West Acton racist graffiti to contact police at (978) 318-3400.
Officials said they’re working with residents and community partners “to address the root causes of antisemitism and racism in Acton.”
“We call on everyone to join us in this effort to ensure Acton remains a safe and welcoming home for all,” the town said.
Select Board Chair Mark Howell read the town’s statement verbatim at the beginning of Monday’s evening’s board meeting, prompting at least one gasp from the audience.
Monday, 10:22 p.m.: This breaking story has been updated.
