Police and Montgomery County Public Schools officials are investigating after antisemitic vandalism was discovered May 2 at Greenwood Elementary School in Brookeville.
An expletive and other harmful language expressed anti-Israel sentiment and referenced Israeli leadership, and the vandalism included a drawing of a Star of David, according to a letter Principal Jennifer Seidel wrote to parents that day.
The vandalism was found on a wall near the school’s kitchen entrance and on metal covering near the building’s roofline.
School officials are reviewing security camera footage and working with local police to identify those responsible. This incident prompted MCPS security staff to increase patrols of the school and surrounding areas, Seidel told families.
The principal made counselors and psychologists available to support students and staff impacted by the incident.
“I am beyond saddened by this incident, and as your principal, I am concerned about the social-emotional impact this will have for those who work and attend our school, but also those living in our community,” Seidel wrote in her letter.
Building service staff covered the vandalism May 3 and worked to permanently remove it before school began on Monday.
Gov. Wes Moore condemned the vandalism, calling the act unacceptable and reiterating the state’s commitment to combating hate.
“Such hate has no place in our schools or our state, especially as we begin Jewish American Heritage Month,” Moore wrote on social media. “Ensuring my people feel safe where they live, work, worship, and learn remains my greatest priority. Our administration is working closely with local authorities to combat this hate and stomp out antisemitism in all its forms.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin called the vandalism “profoundly disturbing” in a May 4 social media post.
“We’re all holding the students and Greenwood community close as authorities continue to investigate another intolerable act of antisemitic vandalism,” Raskin wrote.
This incident is just one of many in recent months, according to Guila Franklin Siegel, the chief operating officer of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington.
“Over the past few months, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) has experienced a deeply troubling pattern of antisemitic and/or anti-Zionist incidents,” Franklin Siegel wrote in a statement. “These include anti-Jewish and anti-Israel graffiti on school walls, most recently at Greenwood Elementary School this weekend; inflammatory anti-Israel messaging at Olney Elementary School’s recent culture night; ‘Heil Hitler’ gestures and speech occurring at middle school events; and, most worryingly, physical threats and harassment directed toward Jewish students at multiple schools.”
She said that while these incidents vary, they all point to one conclusion: “Too many Jewish students and educators at too many MCPS schools continue to face too many threats.”
The number of reports the JCRC has received regarding antisemitism in MCPS is “significantly higher” compared to other school districts in greater Washington, according to Franklin Siegel.
The state of Maryland ranked ninth in the United States for antisemitism, according to the ADL’s annual audit, with 181 recorded antisemitic incidents in 2025. The majority of Maryland’s “antisemitic activity” occurred in Montgomery County.
Maryland also ranked fifth nationally for antisemitic incidents in kindergarten through 12th grade schools, Cohen said.
The Greenwood Elementary School incident does not reflect a wider trend in anti-Israel incidents in Montgomery County.
“What we are seeing is the vast majority [of antisemitic incidents reported to the ADL in 2025] reflect direct student-on-student harassment, using Nazi terms and salutes and saying slurs like, ‘dirty Jew’ or ‘kike,’” Cohen explained. “We are actually not seeing Israel-related and Gaza-related peer-to-peer bullying the same way that we are seeing this more traditional antisemitic content.”
That discovery surprised Cohen, she said. “We’re harkening back to a time of more traditional antisemitic language and imagery in [K-12] schools” reminiscent of “our parents’ and grandparents’ generations.”
Cohen referenced the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate’s widely watched Super Bowl commercial, which showed a student getting bullied at school for his Jewish faith. She said some Jewish viewers were critical of the ad because of its “old-fashioned” use of the slur “dirty Jew.”
But the derogatory term is “one of the most trending terms we’re seeing,” Cohen said, and it’s likely spread via social media and online multiplayer gaming platforms, she added.
As for the recent vandalism incident, Cohen encourages Greenwood Elementary School parents to talk openly with their children about what happened in an age-appropriate way.
“As a parent myself, it’s such a struggle to know what we shield our children from and what we talk to them about,” she said. “But I believe that an open dialogue with our children and with the school is important to make sure that when these issues arise, they are dealt with swiftly, and kids feel safe more than anything … We want our children to grow up feeling safe and protected in places like their elementary school.”
