Leaders of Howard County's Jewish community are disturbed by anti-Semitic vandalism this week at a Columbia shopping center and other recent bias incidents, but they say the incidents don't indicate a rise of intolerance in Columbia.
While urging vigilance, they praised the community's swift, strong reaction to the incident and the effectiveness of county human rights programs, which assist victims of racial, religious and ethnic hate-bias incidents.
"We know the community is very strongly behind us and against bigotry," said Michael Jacobs, spokesman for the Jewish Federation of Howard County, an umbrella group representing Jewish organizations. "Every time anything like this has happened, there's been an expression of support and outrage from the non-Jewish community as well."
Sunday night or Monday morning, large red swastikas were painted on the windows and outside walls of a Harper's Choice Village Center photography store owned by Russian Jewish immigrants, an act Jewish leaders say was probably committed by juveniles as a prank.
Although county and Jewish Federation annual reports don't show a dramatic increase in anti-Semitic incidents, the federation's executive director, Steven Shaw, said such incidents have been on the rise over the past four months.
Since October, the federation has received reports of six anti-Semitic incidents in Columbia, the 27-year-old planned community widely recognized for its racial and ethnic diversity. They include two at the Uniphoto Labs Inc. store. The federation typically receives about six such reports each year.
The county's Office of Human Rights received six reports of anti-Semitic incidents last year, three in 1993 and seven in 1992, said James Henson, administrator.
"It's cause for concern, but it doesn't seem to be any kind of alarming increase," Mr. Henson said.
Incidents reported since last fall include:
* A bomb threat left on the answering machine of the Jewish Federation's office in the Oakland Mills Interfaith Center in mid-December. Police concluded that the threat was a prank, noting laughter in the background on the message.
* Broken windows and the painting of swastikas and anti-Semitic epithets at Thunder Hill Elementary School in Oakland Mills Thanksgiving weekend.
* Swastikas painted on a stop sign and an intersection in Dorsey's Search Village around Halloween.
* A teen-ager dressed in a Ku Klux Klan costume on Halloween who rang the doorbell of a Jewish household in Dorsey's Search, yelled epithets and ran away.
Mr. Jacobs offered several theories for recent hate-bias incidents: an increase in rowdiness in the fall as schools reopen, a general backlash against affirmative action programs and protections for minority groups, and the fact that some people now move to Columbia simply for its convenient location, rather than its philosophy of racial and religious harmony.
"There is a deep concern that this type of hateful act still persists in our community," Mr. Jacobs said. "We need to make people aware it's happening, educate them to the harm it causes and hope the community will rise up against this kind of bigotry."
Students at Longfellow Elementary School in Harper's Choice village made posters this week on the theme of peace and will place their artwork in the windows of Harper's Choice Village Center stores on Monday, said Principal Allan Olchowski.
Volunteers from the Human Rights Office's Network of Neighbors program -- a group which supports victims of hate-bias incidents -- have talked with Uniphoto Labs co-owners Solomon Keyser and Yakov Fox. The office also plans to send letters alerting several nearby churches and synagogues to the incident.
And County Executive Charles I. Ecker and County Councilwoman Mary Lorsung, who represents Harper's Choice village, have denounced the photo shop incident.
Police are continuing to investigate the Uniphoto Labs incident and have offered a $300 reward for tips leading to an arrest. To make a report, call (410) 313-3700.