A rabbi at the Kingston synagogue vandalized with an anti-Israel poster last week has a message for the still-at-large perpetrator or perpetrators — “Let’s talk.”

“Let’s have a conversation,” said Rabbi-Elect Jack Sherratt of Congregation Emanuel of the Hudson Valley on Albany Avenue. “[Vandalism] is not productive. It just sows distrust and fear. If what you really want is to change the world, if you really care about what’s happening in the world and in Israel and Gaza, great, me too, so we already have some common ground. Let’s have a conversation.”

Sherratt’s remarks come as detectives with the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office continue the investigation into the March 24 incident at the synagogue. During the overnight hours, just after the congregation’s Purim celebrations, an unknown person or people used an adhesive substance to place a large poster bearing the words “F--k Israel” prominently on the exterior of the synagogue. Police say they are reviewing video culled from doorbell cameras and other sources in the neighborhood in an effort to identify the vandals. Those liable could be charged with criminal mischief as a hate crime — a Class E felony — under New York law.

“The fact that this happened at a house of worship is very concerning to us,” said Ulster County Sheriff Juan Figueroa. “We want to find whoever is responsible.”

The vandalism incident comes at a time of rising antisemitism in the U.S. and around the world stemming from the ongoing Israeli invasion of Gaza in response the Hamas-led Oct. 7 raid into Israel which killed some 1,200 Israeli citizens and saw 253 more abducted as hostages or POWs. Since then, over 30,000 Palestinian combatants and civilians have been killed in an ongoing offensive that has drawn increasingly widespread international condemnation. Most pro-Palestinian advocates have sought to differentiate between anti-Zionism and antisemitism but Jewish groups on college campuses and elsewhere have also reported a spike in hate incidents amid the turmoil in Gaza.

Sherratt said the posting of an anti-Israel message on a Jewish house of worship illustrates how criticism of Israel can “blur” into anti-Jewish hate.

“There’s a distressing escalation of antisemitism and a blurring it seems of these two issues,” said Sherratt, who is scheduled to take over from longtime congregation leader Rabbi Yael Roemer this summer. “Antisemitism and anti-Zionism against Israel are two sperate conversations, but ‘F--k Israel’ on a synagogue wall just conflates the two in a way that shows a lack of nuance or understanding.”

Sherratt said that he and the congregation had been shaken and disheartened by the vandalism incident. But they’ve also been touched by the outpouring of support from the community. Sherratt said U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had reached out to offer assistance, as had members of other faith communities in Kingston.

“It a confusing moment because on the one hand we’re devastated, it’s scary and sad,” said Sherratt. “On the other hand, there’s been such an outpouring of love and support from all sides, from government officials and from other faith communities in the area. It’s very heartening and we welcome it.”