Editor’s note: This article, originally published at 8:44 p.m. on Aug. 11, 2024, was updated at 6:48 p.m. on Aug. 12, 2024, to add statements from MCPS, Bethesda Elementary School and the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington.
Montgomery County police are investigating the spray-painting of antisemitic phrases on the parking lot at Bethesda Elementary School and at a nearby building in downtown Bethesda over the weekend.
Officers responded at about 7:15 a.m. Sunday for a report of vandalism, police said Sunday afternoon in a statement.
“During the overnight hours, unknown suspects spray painted anti-Semitic phrases over the parking lot area of the school and a nearby building in the 4900 block of Del Ray Ave.,” police said in the statement.
The school is at 7600 Arlington Road and is home to a farmers market on Sunday mornings.
Spraypainted grafitti on the crosswalk near Bethesda Elementary School. Credit: Guila Franklin Siegel/ Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington 
Graffiti spray painted on the sidewalk near Bethesda Elementary School. Credit: Guila Franklin Siegel/ Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington
On Sunday, Bethesda Elementary School Principal Lisa Seymour sent a letter to families about the school being “defaced with politically charged statements.”
“Unfortunately, many people were attending the farmer’s market (in the school parking lot), and our neighbors saw the graffiti. As we are only two weeks away from the start of the school year, it is imperative that we recognize the emotional harm actions like this have on everyone,” Seymour wrote.
When the school was made aware of the graffiti, police were contacted and maintenance was “deployed” to help remove the graffiti, Seymour said.
On Monday, police said the incident has been classified as a bias-related crime. “Officers are canvassing the area and reviewing surveillance footage from the neighborhood in an effort to identify those responsible,” police said.
The department said it takes such incidents “very seriously” and is “working closely with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) to ensure the safety and security of the community.”
The graffiti was removed by Bethesda Urban Partnership, MCPS, and volunteers, police said.
MCPS spokesperson Liliana Lopez said in a statement Monday that the district was thankful for the community members who helped clean up the graffiti at the school.
“Their actions reflect the behavior we model for our students as we strive to build a community of life, not hate,” Lopez wrote.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington condemned the incident in a Monday statement regarding the vandalism at the school.
“The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington is appalled by the discovery of antisemitic graffiti at Bethesda Elementary School this weekend,” the statement said. “As children and families were trying to enjoy a farmers market, they were instead witnesses to abhorrent antisemitic messages. Ahead of the new school year, it is critical that we make clear that this type of hate speech has no place here.”
The federation said it appreciated “the work of the Montgomery County Police Department and local community members and leaders in quickly cleaning up the graffiti.” It encouraged community members to continue reaching out to local police and the federation’s security division to report incidents.
In a Sunday statement Guila Franklin Siegel, the chief operating officer of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, called the graffiti “appalling.”
“These messages, like the recent arson attack on the Jewish Museum of Maryland in Baltimore, are a stark reminder that antisemitism as an ideology is still pervasive and not easily erased,” Siegel said. “We hope the perpetrators of this outrageous desecration of school property are apprehended and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Police do not have descriptions of possible suspects, the statement said.
–Elia Griffin contributed to this report.