A Georgia church was vandalized with anti-Semitic graffiti over the weekend.
The Unitarian Universalist Church of Augusta, Ga., said the vandalism—consisting of a line striking a Star of David inside a circle on a window with the words “God will NOT BE Mocked” written on the walls next to it—will be intentionally left up for a week to prompt a dialogue about compassion and acceptance, reported local CBS affiliate WRDW.
“It’s important for the people of our community to know that this exists, to take a stand,” said the church’s president, Andy Reese.
Georgia is one of four U.S. states without a hate-crime law.
“By not having that, we are tacitly saying that hate crimes are not particularly serious,” said Reese.
Still, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the graffiti.
U.S Rep. Rick Allen (R-Ga.) condemned the vandalism, told JNS that “there is no place for anti-Semitism or hate speech of any kind in our community.”