Carmel Mayor to city residents: Raise your Flag for Freedom

Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard today urged every resident and business in the City of Carmel to stand together in support of Congregation Shaarey Tefilla and all those Americans persecuted for their Jewish, Muslim, Mormon, Hindu and Christian faiths by raising their America flags on their front porches, lawns and businesses throughout the City of Carmel.

The American flag is a symbol of freedom, liberty and human rights. The plea for this unifying act of support against hatred comes in the wake of the anti-Semitic graffiti that was spray painted on a brick structure at the Congregation over the weekend. During a long day of passionate support and deep soul-searching, much of it played out on social media, it was apparent to the Mayor that people are searching for a way to show unity in the face of intolerance.

What better way to do that than to raise the flag of freedom that stands for the very freedoms that those responsible would take away from us; freedoms that far too many of us take for granted, in particular, the freedom to practice religion.

"The recent actions go against every principle that our country stands for, dating back to our founding. This is now an opportunity to teach those who may not understand the ramifications felt by real people in the face of intolerance. We are urging the entire community to raise their U.S. flags today, tomorrow and the rest of this week in support of freedom of religion," said Mayor Brainard, who added that he will instruct the City Street Department to do the same thing throughout Carmel. "Knowing the city and our residents, I think there will be tremendous support for this in Carmel."