MILWAUKEE – When Rabbi Gil-Ezer Lerer approached a vandal breaking glass windows at Temple Menorah, the man walked away and was soon apprehended by Milwaukee Police. The incident took place on Sunday morning, June 15.
“He was arrested within minutes of leaving the synagogue,” Lerer said.
This is an isolated incident, involving only this perpetrator, who had taken an offbeat interest in the synagogue in recent weeks, said Lerer, who leads the shul in northwest Milwaukee.
“He took the Israeli flag off the pole, smashed all the windows; every glass door is smashed,” Lerer said. “He took all our signs in support of Israel, tore them up, [and] wrote a manifesto on it.”
Authorities returned the Israeli flag to the shul. Milwaukee Police said in a statement that the suspect, a 59-year-old man, was arrested. Criminal charges were be referred to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office, and a Milwaukee man was charged.
“I felt bad because he’s a veteran, former military, and you feel bad about somebody like that,” Lerer said, adding that he never feared violence. “I was never in fear over this. I’m not worried about this anymore with him, and I never felt there was a danger.”
Lerer learned of the incident the morning of Sunday, June 15, when he was alerted to a man doing damage at the synagogue. It was just before morning minyan, so Lerer quickly left early for Temple Menorah; the man fled as Lerer and two others who were with him arrived, the rabbi said.
A call was made to 911. Milwaukee Police soon arrived and apprehended the suspect down the street, with the help of a congregant, as members of the synagogue arrived for minyan. Despite the obvious glass damage and consternation, the synagogue members started prayers.
“One of the members started the minyan already, and I took over, and we zipped through it, and we sang,” Lerer said.
“I said to everybody, ‘We are going to keep praying. We’re going to do the minyan. Yeah, it’ll be a little bit faster, because I have to go talk to the detectives outside.’”
Lerer asked the detectives if they could wait a bit. “I offered them coffee and whatever, and they were just there, taking pictures and measuring things. Then our volunteers started to clean up as much as we could,” Lerer said.
Repairs could be costly, and Lerer said he didn’t yet know if insurance would cover it. Lerer said the damage could have been worse if not for a grant from Homeland Security that had been used to improve security, with assistance from Milwaukee Jewish Federation.
“Thank God for the Milwaukee Police Department,” Lerer said, highlighting District Four in particular. “They were excellent.”
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