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Vandalism damages nearly 300 Israel flags at Winfield First Presbyterian Church
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
WINFIELD — Nearly 300 Israeli flags displayed outside Winfield First Presbyterian Church to honor victims of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel were found vandalized this week, splattered with ketchup and knocked to the ground.
Pastor at Winfield First Presbyterian Church Jeremy Blauvelt said church members placed flags around the building Sunday, Oct. 5 afternoon, and by Monday afternoon 287 flags were damaged. The church discovered the vandalism Monday, Oct. 6 afternoon while hosting the COMPS program for students during the no-school Monday.
Volunteers had placed the flags as part of the Flags of Fellowship initiative, a national project by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews that encourages churches and synagogues to display Israeli flags in remembrance of those killed in the Hamas attacks two years ago.
“Somebody came through and 287 of them — I counted them — were damaged,” Blauvelt said. “The police are looking into it. They left the ketchup bottle behind, and the police have that.”
He said the vandal appeared to focus on flags inside the churchyard, out of view from the street.
“They ripped up a few on the north side, and after they got done dumping their ketchup, they knocked over the ones on the driveway,” he said. “It looks like they went after the ones where people couldn’t see what they were doing.”
Police are investigating and have not released any information about suspects or a motive.
Blauvelt said the congregation planned to replace the flags Tuesday, Oct. 7 the second anniversary of the attacks.
“It feels appropriate to do it on the seventh,” he said. “If it was just a kid being stupid, we still want to remember. We don’t want to forget because somebody did something foolish.”
Blauvelt said most community members have been supportive, though some online comments were insensitive or mocking. Through a conversation with a moderator in the Winfield, Iowa Community Bulletin Board group on Facebook, they determined many of the unsupportive comments came from outside the community due to hashtags that meant Blauvelt’s posts about the vandalism reached a larger audience.
“Last year we had very positive feedback,” he said. “This year, somebody decided they wanted to make a mess. Our leaders were dumbfounded that someone would do that.”
He added that the church would continue its tradition of displaying the Flags of Fellowship each October and leave the investigation to authorities.
“We’ll thank the congregation for their work,” Blauvelt said. “And we’ll let the police do their job to maintain order in the community.”
Anyone with information about the vandalism is asked to contact the Winfield Police Department.
Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com
