It’s been an intense week on Vashon Island in the aftermath of the Havurat Ee Shalom’s desecration. Stars of David, many of them printed and distributed by Islander Alice Orr, have been posted on windows, cars, even front doors. A vigil — organized by Father Tryphon — drew perhaps 100 people. Television crews arrived on Vashon, visiting, among others, The Beachcomber office. (They wanted a copy of the photograph we ran in last week’s paper of the anti-Semitic graffiti at the synagogue.) And finally, the King County Sheriff’s Office and Prosecutor’s Office have begun investigating the incident as a hate crime, calling it “a textbook case,” as deputy prosecutor Mike Hogan put it.

All told, it’s been a strong and heartfelt response, the kind that suggests Vashon is, indeed, a place that will do all it can to stomp out intolerance when it raises its ugly head.

It’ll be too easy, however, to let the next big community incident — whatever it might be — overshadow this one. It’ll be easy to forget and move on.

The synagogue’s congregation is considering undertaking an initiative to bring a curriculum about intolerance into the school district. The regional office of the Anti-Defamation League has offered to help.

It’s important that the larger community support this effort. As some have noted, this virulent strain of hate likely came from somewhere on Vashon. And the perpetrator, some suspect, was a young person. Vashon’s school district, already strong in its anti-bullying efforts, needs to also address this kind of intolerance, with the support and encouragement of the wider community. In so doing, we’ll give more life and meaning to a phrase heard much last week: “Not on our watch.”