Vermont yoga studio vandalized with anti-Israel graffiti, police investigate
Police are probing anti-Israel graffiti on the windows of DG Bodyworks, a Jewish-owned yoga studio in Cavendish, after messages including “Free Palestine” appeared on the glass.
Anti-Israel graffiti on the front windows of DG Bodyworks turned a small yoga studio in Cavendish into the center of a hate-crime investigation, raising fresh concerns about who feels safe walking into community wellness spaces. Vermont State Police said they were investigating the vandalism as a possible hate crime and planned to notify the Vermont Attorney General’s Office.
The studio is owned by Denise Gebroe, who identifies herself on the DG Bodyworks website as a licensed massage therapist and personal trainer. Business records list Gebroe as the registered agent and owner of DG Bodyworks LLC. The studio is listed at 7 Depot Street in Proctorsville, while the vandalism was reported in Cavendish, a nearby town in Windsor County.
The graffiti on the windows included the phrases “Free Palestine” and “F*** Israel,” making the damage more than random property destruction. The targeting of a Jewish-owned business, and one that publicly displays two Israeli flags in its front windows, turned the incident into a direct message aimed at the owner and at anyone who sees a yoga studio as a neutral, restorative place. In a field built around inclusion, breath and physical safety, that kind of vandalism lands as intimidation as much as damage.
The case arrives amid a broader rise in antisemitic incidents across Vermont and New England. The Anti-Defamation League says Vermont is home to about 16,900 Jewish residents, or 2.8% of the state population. Its state profile shows antisemitic incidents in Vermont jumped from 6 in 2022 to 43 in 2023 and 44 in 2024. Across New England, the ADL recorded 623 antisemitic incidents in 2023 and 638 in 2024.
For yoga students and teachers, the vandalism goes beyond one broken storefront window. It underscores how quickly a space marketed as calm, health-focused and welcoming can become a target when political anger spills into a neighborhood business. In Cavendish, the question is no longer only who damaged DG Bodyworks, but who now feels hesitant to enter a studio that was supposed to offer a sense of calm and belonging.
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