Jackson Township, NJ – The vacant Christa McAuliffe Middle School building that is in the process of being sold to Beth Medrash Govoha was allegedly broken into and vandalized, with swastikas, Nazi slogans and racist graffiti left inside the former Jackson Township school.
Photos circulating among local media outlets allegedly show a classroom chalkboard defaced with the phrases “Heil Hitler,” a racial slur targeting Black Americans, and a swastika. The building, once a Blue Ribbon School named after teacher and NASA astronaut Christa McAuliffe, has been vacant since its closure by the Jackson School District.
The incident has drawn sharp condemnation from local officials and Jewish community leaders, including Democratic Assemblyman Avi Schnall (D-Lakewood), who issued a statement calling the vandalism an act of intimidation rather than ordinary property damage.
Schnall calls vandalism an act of intimidation
“A swastika painted inside a Jewish-owned building is not teenage mischief or ordinary vandalism. It is an unmistakable message of intimidation,” Schnall said. “Those responsible must be identified, prosecuted and held fully accountable.”
The property was recently purchased by Beth Medrash Govoha, the Lakewood-based institution widely recognized as the largest yeshiva in the United States.
While the school is located in Jackson Township, outside Schnall’s 30th Legislative District, the assemblyman said the incident has implications beyond municipal borders.
Assemblyman blames broader political climate
In his statement, Schnall argued the alleged bias crime should prompt elected officials to examine rhetoric surrounding Orthodox Jewish communities in Jackson and neighboring municipalities.
“Hate does not begin with broken windows and spray paint,” Schnall said. “It begins when a community is repeatedly portrayed as a problem to be contained, a threat to be feared or an easy target for political resentment. It grows when inflammatory claims go unchallenged, when contempt is tolerated at public meetings and when elected officials discover that attacking Orthodox Jews is an effective way to win attention or applause.”
Schnall also suggested some politicians have contributed to an atmosphere that encourages hostility.
“The individuals who entered that building are responsible for their actions. But elected officials are responsible for the climate they help create,” he said. “Politicians cannot spend months feeding suspicion of a religious community—or quietly benefiting from it—and then wash their hands of the consequences when that hostility turns dangerous.”
He added, “A condemnation issued after a swastika appears is hollow if the same leaders remain silent while an entire community is demeaned day after day. Leadership requires confronting hatred before it becomes vandalism.”
Investigation into vandalism expected
Authorities have not publicly announced any arrests or identified suspects in the reported break-in and vandalism.
Schnall said the incident should serve as “a turning point” and urged public officials to consider the impact of their words on community tensions.
“Every elected official should ask whether their words are lowering the temperature or raising it,” he said. “The public should expect more from those entrusted with authority. Words carry weight, silence sends a message, and neither is without consequence.”
