Indian-American Congressman's Community Center Vandalised With Pro-Palestinian Messages

A community centre owned by Indian-American Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Detroit, was vandalized with spray-painted words including "racist," "ceasefire," and "FREE PALESTINE" along with another statement labelling Thanedar as "SHRI RACIST," on Monday morning.

Images of the vandalism were provided to Detroit Free Press by the Congressman, revealing that Thanedar's face on the building located in Livernois, Detroit, was painted with a red X and horns.

Photo Credit: X

Vandalism Incident In the USA

The attacks occurred at a time when US universities were witnessing a surge in anti-Israel protests, with many students erecting pro-Palestinian camps inside the campuses. It is noted that Thanedar has been a staunch supporter of Israel following the Hamas attack, which resulted in the deaths of at least 1,200 Israelis. In response to the X post mentioned above, one user expressed, "This is disgusting and unacceptable!" Another user added, "How shameful!"

Thanedar informed that he will complain to Detroit police, stating that "it's not just an isolated incident" about anti-Israel protestors disrupting a holiday party last year in December at a club near Wayne State University. A few months ago, protesters were also observed outside Thanedar's house, making noises and knocking on his door, which frightened his wife, as reported by Hindustan Times citing Detroit Free Press.

The Indian Congressman parted ways with the Democratic Socialists of America for their failure to denounce Hamas' brutality strongly. Thanedar has since been advocating for a ceasefire and the release of all hostages held by both sides. Stressing that "war never solves any problems," he believes that the terrorist organization Hamas should be dismantled to the point where it can no longer commit such acts of violence. He highlighted that "(But) such vandalism, creating such fear among my supporters... isn't going to bring sympathy to their cause."

The Congressman further mentioned that the graffiti will be removed from the building, which is used for seminars, community events, and roundtable talks. Earlier this year, Thanedar joined a group of Hindu leaders and organizations to raise their voices against growing hate crimes against the community, as per media reports.

Thanedar stated, "We see a lot of Hindu phobia. We see California SB403 (the bill banning caste discrimination), and that's just the beginning. The attacks on our temples and attacks on Hindus all over the world. That is one of the reasons why I decided to form the Hindu Caucus."