A Jewish lawyer who has been practicing law in southern Maine since 1979 had his Portland office targeted this weekend with pro-Palestine graffiti.
“We have the American flag and then in the other window we have the Israeli flag hanging there, which we put up immediately following October 7, because we are a Jewish family and we wanted to show our alignment with Israel,” said Roberta Cope, the wife of attorney Steven Cope.
Cope, a bankruptcy attorney, has lived in Maine for his entire life.
On October 7, Islamic terrorists, operating under the banner of Gaza-based Hamas, launched a flurry of rockets into Israel and invaded nearby towns to murder, rape, and kidnap Jews.
Though the messages tagged on his Stevens Avenue office windows were about Palestine, Cope said he views the graffitied message as code language for those on the far left who support Hamas.
“I’m just expressing solidarity for Israel and others are expressing in code words that would, if expanded thoroughly, would suggest that my right to live should be forfeit,” said Cope.
“It’s just a couple of words, Free Palestine, but it’s code, and as code it means a lot more and it resonates in a way that has been just proliferating in various media, and it’s dangerous,” said Cope. “And what happened to me is relatively benign, but it could have been a lot worse and it could be a lot worse to others, whether it be at a synagogue, at the temple, any public gathering.”
Cope and his wife called the police to investigate. An officer from the Portland Police Department showed up and interviewed them and other shop owners, they said. The officer wasn’t able to find any other businesses that had been targeted with anti-semitic graffiti.
Pro-Palestine demonstrations have occurred in many American cities and at many American universities following the brutal terrorism campaign waged by Hamas terrorists against Israel.
Though there has been much debate about the distinction between “pro-Palestinian” messages versus “pro-Hamas” or “anti-Israel” messages, the demonstration held in Portland on Oct. 11 by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) was unambiguous.
“The actions of the resistance over the course of the last day is a morally and legally legitimate response to the occupation,” said organizer Zachary Campbell, referring to the Hamas offensive that killed over 1,300 Israelis.
Campbell, who is a teacher at a public school in Maine, followed his justification of the terrorist attacks with chants of “When Palestine is occupied, resistance is justified,” and “Netanyahu you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide.”
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and Rep. Jared Golden were among the only Maine politicians to denounce the pro-Hamas rally in Maine’s largest city.
After the rally, the Maine Wire contacted the following Portland officials for comment: Mayor Kate Snyder, Councilor Pious Ali, Councilor April Fournier, Councilor Roberto Rodriguez, Councilor Anna Trevorrow, Councilor Victoria Pelletier, Councilor Regina Phillips, Councilor Andrew Zarro, Councilor Mark Dion, and Portland communications director Jessica Grondin.
None of them responded.
Former Portland Mayor Ethan Strimling, a DSA member who has regularly attended meetings with the DSA members who organized the rally, refused to acknowledge or condemn the pro-Hamas messages.
Cope said he was not surprised that Portland officials have kept quiet about political activists rallying for Hamas in front of City Hall, saying it’s not “politically expedient” for politicians in the city to condemn anti-Israel terrorism.
“That’s not in vogue,” he said. “The approach that was taken by [DSA] is sort of in vogue today.”
“It is reprehensible to not be able to acknowledge the seriousness of the horrific acts of terrorism as a justification for social change,” he said.
11 Comments
Thankful to the Maine Wire for covering this story. Horrifying to see this unfolding in Portland. We cannot stand by and do nothing and say nothing. We must stand against anti-semitism.
It starts at the top with OBiden and his ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. See this article which, of course, will be discredited by the Left because all they ever do is deflect and apologize for Islamic jihad:
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/10/bidens-pact-with-muslim-brotherhood-linked-group-emgage-and-his-conundrum-over-hamas-war-on-israel
This is scary stuff regardless of what one’s personal beliefs. If allowed this behavior grows as society is fast losing its way. Who would Hitler be cheering for in this sad state of affairs?
The best one can say is that all these Portland “officials” have removed their masks and revealed who they REALLY are, what they actually will remain silent about; mass murder, torture and genocide as long as it is against their “political enemies”.
Think about that for a minute.
Their silence is tacit acquiescence ,and therefore an attempt to legitimize, in the face of the most horrific violence committed against civilians in Israel ,and potentially anywhere if the perpetrators align with the malignant political philosophies of the DSA and that ilk.
November 1938 – The German Nazi sympathizers had very similar expressions of support for Kristallnacht, after the Nazi Brownshirts attacked Jews and their businesses . That was their version of “social justice” in 1938 ,and these disgusting spineless “Americans” are just espousing the same repugnant ideology under the canard of Palestinian “resistance”.
The real Nazis of today have indeed taken their masks off.
The best one can say is that all these Portland “officials” have removed their masks and revealed who they REALLY are, what they actually will remain silent about; mass murder, torture and genocide as long as it is against their “political enemies”.
Think about that for a minute.
Their silence is tacit acquiescence ,and therefore an attempt to legitimize, in the face of the most horrific violence committed against civilians in Israel ,and potentially anywhere if the perpetrators align with the malignant political philosophies of the DSA and that ilk.
November 1938 – The German Nazi sympathizers had very similar expressions of support for Kristallnacht, after the Nazi Brownshirts attacked Jews and their businesses . That was their version of “social justice” in 1938 ,and these disgusting spineless “Americans” are just espousing the same repugnant ideology under the canard of Palestinian “resistance”.
The real Nazis of today have indeed taken their masks off.
Thanks for reporting this Steve, no one else is. This is really bad, it s Berlin 1938
First the Jews, then (if we are not unified in our support), who is next? The elderly? The disabled? Activist Republicans, anyone who refuses the dictates of the state?
As others have pointed out, if leaders refuse to condemn incidents of this kind, we are all in danger. It will be a case of “Show me the man…”
This is not our Portland.
We stand firmly in support of and in defense of Mr. Cope.
Portland today is not what we grew up with. We reject it outright.
Cowardly behaviour of discrimination is untenable.
We denounce it !
Did I miss something? I was pretty certain that Hamas launched the massacre and killed almost 2000 people and killed and beheaded people. Doesn’t that justify retaliation on a massive scale? Or did the world take a sharp left and open season on Jews is the new ‘thang’?
Has anyone noticed an uptick in the numbers of blonde-haired blue-eyed tall strong men in brown uniforms? Did someone change the rules? Crap. Give me a rifle. Let’s go.
Palestinians live in an open air prison and any kind of resistance against Israel is portrayed by jews as an unjustified attack on jews. Its textbook jewish behavior. Jews grind you down and oppress you and then when you resist the grinding, they accuse you of being the evil attacker. Jews don’t believe that anyone else has the right to defend themselves against their behavior. Jews truly believe that they have the right to behave however they want and they hate more than anything, being named and called out for their subversive behavior.
In America, we don’t live in the same kind of open air prison that Palestinians live in. Our prison is a different kind and jews are running it. The holohoax narrative is used to keep White people racially imprisoned and fearful of standing up for themselves as White people. The day when White people finally realize that they are being held hostage by the same tribe that is holding Palestinians hostage is the day when things begin to change. Maybe things are already changing.
When jews stand up against anti-whiteism and condemn all racially motivated attacks against white people I might start to care about the probably self inflicted vandalism.