Thought experiment: how many antisemites would be spraying graffiti on Jews’ homes and cars if they thought that many of the Jews were armed and trigger-happy?

(No, I’m not advocating shooting somebody over graffiti; this is just a thought experiment.)

Orthogonally: back just after the Buford Furrow thing in 1999, I had a conversation with an Israeli friend of mine: “Where the hell were the parents?” was his question.

“So what did they talk about in Hebrew School today?”

She goes to Hebrew School at the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue, one of the two synagogues within a few doors of each other on Remsen Street that had swastikas painted on them some time Monday night. (I only heard about the flyers today.) When I arrived at BHS just before 6:00 PM, the brownstone stoop had been cleaned, and all that remained was some water left over from its scouring.

As I waited for her on the sidewalk, next to a parked My9 News van, various folks walked up and spoke about how disturbing it was for this to have happened in one of our neighborhoods. The BHS security guard — a black man of Caribbean descent who (if I remember the story correctly) became increasingly interested in Judaism as he spent more time there and ultimately converted — was talking with whoever came up and inquired.

The BHS security man retained his calm demeanor, but I couldn’t help but think that he must have felt — even though he obviously can’t be there all the time — that he’d failed to protect the synagogue. I watched him stand there, on top of the wet patch of brownstone, letting people know where it had been.

As one who sometimes worries about his daughter’s safety at Hebrew School, that security guard is a reassuring presence to us all. I’m sure lots of other parents would agree. On a purely personal level, this act must have infuriated him. I know there are bigger issues at stake here, but I can’t stop thinking of how he, our protector in many ways, must have felt.

Although I know that this act was so hurtful to so many people, I would think that most would see it as symptom of someone else’s illness and be thankful that they’re not similarly infected. I’m pretty sure that’s how my daughter thinks of it. She understands the hate involved, but she’s learning a lesson from it, not insulted by it. For her, the racist or racists responsible exist as laboratory phenomena — something more to be puzzled over than offended by.

If today’s Daily News is correct, there are a lot of cops working on it and at least one local store security camera may show something promising.

It could have been done by local Muslims, but my money’s still on stupid white guys. We’ll see.

According to my daughter, yesterday’s Hebrew School class was not dominated by the event — they had lots of other ground to cover — but I’d consider it one of the most important ones she’s ever had.