On Shabbos morning, Rabbi Bentzion Alperowitz of Chabad Lubavitch in Bournemouth stepped outside his home with his children on the way to shul, only to discover a swastika scrawled across the wall. In a public video message, Rabbi Alperowitz invites his community not to hide, but to live even more proudly as Jews.

On Shabbos morning, Rabbi Bentzion Alperowitz of Chabad Lubavitch in Bournemouth stepped outside his home with his children on the way to shul, only to discover a swastika scrawled across the wall.

“It was clearly done in the middle of the night by cowards with a spray can,” Rabbi Bentzion said the next day, Sunday, Rosh Chodesh Elul. “Obviously this is upsetting and alarming, and we are taking the necessary safety precautions. But our response is not to fear, not to hide, but to live even more proudly as Jews.”

The hateful act, which was reported to police and CST, drew outrage across the Jewish world. “Not Berlin 1935. Bournemouth 2025,” wrote journalist Jake Wallis Simons on X. Author and activist Dov Forman, who shared Rabbi Alperowitz’s story with his large following, wrote: “Antisemitism is alive on our streets, yet it is too often excused and ignored. But it will not break us. We will continue to live proudly as Jews.”

By the time Rabbi Bentzion recorded his video message to the community, local friends had already come over to scrub the wall clean. “The swastika is gone,” he said, “but my mezuzah remains in place, and it will remain. I will continue to walk around Bournemouth with my kippah on my head. Be proud of who you are, be proud to be Jewish, and never allow these forces of darkness and evil to instill fear into our hearts.”

Bournemouth, a picturesque seaside resort on England’s southern coast, has long been a popular holiday spot for Jewish families from London and beyond. Since 1989, when the Rebbe sent Rabbi Yossie and Chanie Alperowitz as shluchim, the Chabad House has become a vibrant center of Jewish life, with a shul, Cafe Chabad, children’s cheder, kosher deli, seniors’ visitation, and even a kosher guest house for the many tourists who come year-round.

In 2016, Rabbi Bentzion, a Bournemouth native, and his wife Chanchi joined his parents’ shlichus. Together, they have expanded programming for students, young families, and holiday events, making Chabad of Bournemouth a home away from home for locals and visitors alike.

But as the family’s work has grown, so too have challenges. “Bournemouth is beautiful but a hotbed of antisemitism,” noted Tzvi Alperowitz, recalling that as children walking to shul they were cursed at weekly.

Rabbi Bentzion used the moment to encourage Jews everywhere to strengthen both physical and spiritual security. “Yes, we will be installing cameras,” he said, “but every Jewish home must also have its spiritual protection: a kosher mezuzah on every door. Elul is the time to check them.”

He concluded with a message inspired by the Rebbe’s directive to transform darkness with light: “We should not fall into fear, we should not fall into despair, and we should continue to live proudly and happily as Jews here in Bournemouth. The Rebbe taught that the answer to darkness is to add light – and that is exactly what we will do.”

WATCH: