Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Supervisor Barger Condems Antisemitic Graffitti Painted on Ruins of Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger on Tuesday condemned the vandalism discovered at the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, calling it a “despicable hate crime” against a community still recovering from the Eaton fire.

Barger said she was “deeply disturbed” by the anti-Jewish graffiti found on the temple’s exterior wall last weekend. She said the act targeted a congregation “still healing and rebuilding after last year’s devastating Eaton Fire” and pledged to support law enforcement and community partners as the investigation continues.

The vandalism was first reported by The New York Times, which wrote that a temple member discovered anti-Zionist graffiti on Sunday morning.

Synagogue leaders told the Times the finding had shaken congregants already in an “emotionally fragile” moment, coming less than a week after several hundred community members gathered to mark the first anniversary of the Eaton fire.

Rabbi Joshua Ratner told the Times the vandalism “was devastating in many ways.” According to the Times, the graffiti—written in black paint—denounced Zionism and included the phrase “RIP Renee,” which Ratner interpreted as a reference to Renee Good, a woman shot and killed by a federal agent in Minneapolis last week.

A photo of the graffiti showed large lettering across several feet of a white exterior wall behind a chain-link fence lined with hedges.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department confirmed to the Times that its Altadena station was investigating a report of a hate crime and vandalism on the block where the temple had stood before the wildfire.

The Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, known as PJTC, was located on Altadena Drive just south of Washington Boulevard. It was destroyed in the Eaton fire on Jan. 8, 2025.

The Times article was reported by Jill Cowan.