Outrage after vandals sprayed anti-Semitic graffiti on the home of Jewish American politician Rahm Emanuel

UNION PIRE, MICHIGAN: U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel’s Michigan home in Union Pier was the target of an anti-Semitic attack over the weekend, the Daily Mail reports.

Vandals desecrated the home of one of the country’s most famous Jewish politicians by painting the word “NAZIS” on the fence in black paint.

Emanuel was in Chicago when the incident occurred, and there is no information about whether his family was in the house at the time.

There were no reports of anyone breaking into the house, and the ambassador quickly took action to remove the word.

Anti-Semitism has reached “historic levels” in the United States since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, FBI Director Christopher Wray said.

Who is Rahm Emanuel?

Emanuel, 63, a Jewish American, is former President Barack Obama’s closest confidant. He once served as Obama’s chief of staff from 2009 to 2010. Before joining the White House, he served as a member of the House of Representatives, representing Illinois from 2003 to 2009.

Rahm Emanuel with Barack Obama in the Oval Office (Wikimedia Commons)

After leaving his White House post, he ran for mayor of Chicago and remained in office from 2011 to 2019. In 2021, the Biden administration named him ambassador to Japan.

Rahm Emanuel’s neighbors and community condemn attack

Emanuel is the latest high-profile victim of anti-Semitism in the country.

“Our family is very proud of how our friends, neighbors and the community have rallied to support us and use one voice to condemn hatred and bigotry,” he told the Chicago Sun-Times after the attack.

He also thanked “local law enforcement for the diligence, speed and seriousness with which they solved the crime.”

Tom McNulty, board president of the Gordon Beach Homeowners Association, condemned the hate crime. “We in Gordon Beach condemn this hate crime and the rise of national intolerance, bigotry and hate-based criminal activity,” he said.

“Gordon Beach does not tolerate prejudice, bigotry, racism, hatred or violence, and we encourage anyone who has experienced an act of hate to report it to Berrien County Police,” McNulty added.

“Stop the Hate”

David Axelrod, a former adviser to President Obama, posted a photo of the vandalism on X. He wrote: “This was scrawled on the fence outside @RahmEmanuel’s home in MI. This is vile. It’s disgusting. It’s just another flashing red light. Stop the hate. Stop anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. We know where this is going!”

This was scrawled on the fence outside @RahmEmanuel’s home in MI.
This is vile. It’s disgusting.
It’s just another flashing red light.
Stop the hate. Stop anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.
We know where this leads! pic.twitter.com/pM8lNLP1Wu

— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) November 20, 2023

Jeffrey Robins, former US representative to the UN Commission on Human Rights, shared Axelrod’s post and wrote: “Unfortunately, this is no longer where it leads. Unfortunately, we are there.”

Unfortunately, this is no longer where it leads.

Unfortunately, we are there. https://t.co/fWNUuCqTQy

— Jeffrey Robbins (@jeffreysrobbins) November 20, 2023