Before multiple Jewish teams arrived for their Sunday morning games at the Ballantyne YMCA, workers found swastikas and antisemitic messages on a bus, the sidewalk and the back of a parking lot sign.
By Sunday afternoon, Morrison Family YMCA employees were still working to strip the black spray paint from the sidewalk and the white bus used to move groups of children around Charlotte.
“I don’t know what makes people want to do this anywhere, but especially here,” said Nate Jones, a 32-year-old membership coordinator who has worked at The Y since he was 16.
“It makes us sick.”
The YMCA at the corner of Bryant Farms Road and Community House Road of about 3,500 members immediately called police, according to a statement from the YMCA of Greater Charlotte.
“Hate speech and symbols of intolerance have no place in our society, and certainly not at our YMCA,” said Y spokeswoman Heather Briganti.
She asked that anyone with information to call the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department at 704-336-7600.
Antisemitism in Charlotte
Antisemitism has been on the rise nationally and in Charlotte, as the Israel-Hamas war continues in Gaza.
The Anti-Defamation League reported 8,873 antisemitic incidents nationally last year, a 140% increase from the number of incidents in 2022.
North Carolina saw at least 39 antisemitic incidents across the state in 2022, up from 30 the previous year. That marked a 200% increase from the 13 incidents logged in 2020.
“We are committed to restoring our space and ensuring that our center remains a welcoming and safe environment for everyone,” Briganti said in her statement. “Any remaining vandalism that cannot be addressed today will be resolved promptly.”
