'We're better than that:' Asheville community reacts to vandalism, assault at restaurant

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — More than 24 hours after a restaurant was vandalized with a red swastika, and two men waving Israeli flags said they were assaulted outside of the establishment, reactions continue to pour in.

“It’s horrifying,” Rochelle Reich, the executive director of Congregation Beth Israel, said Wednesday, June 5.

In the past eight months, a man was charged with cyberstalking and threatening a local synagogue. Two restaurants, including Avenue M, have been defaced with hate-filled imagery and now, an alleged assault.

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“It’s no longer an isolated incident," Reich said. "It’s now a pattern."

Like many others, Reich said she is seeing a familiar trend.

“When you start talking about publicly trying to intimidate people to either hide who they are or change what they believe to conform to what other people do, you really are looking at shades of Nazi Germany, and that is a horrifying and really frightening thing to think about,” she said.

But Reich chooses not to dwell on the negative.

"I'm not ignoring it, but I choose not to live in that place; that, to me, is a downward spiral that leads to nothing positive," Reich said. "So, I’d rather take it as an opportunity to educate the community about how that makes parts of the community feel.”

Asheville Chief of Police Mike Lamb said his department continues to investigate and is working with Avenue M and surrounding businesses to identify suspects.

“It's an act of cowardice, which we can’t charge anybody with, but certainly can charge them with the criminal acts that were committed if they’re caught," Reich said. "I think, ultimately, that sends a sign to other people that might be thinking about doing something similar."

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In an email, the Asheville Jewish Community Center (JCC) encouraged its members to consider supporting Avenue M with their business and expressing words of support.

"I believe that there are more people in Asheville that are horrified by what happened yesterday (Tuesday, June 4) than that are in support of what happened," Reich said.

The JCC also underlined they are unaware of any active threat against the Asheville Jewish community.

"I really just want to see the community come together around supporting each other and the businesses that were harmed -- and really just being our best Asheville instead of this undercurrent of hate," Reich said. "We’re better than that; we’re all better than swastikas and egg-throwing. That’s not who we are."