Upper West Side Church Vandalized With Swastikas
Image by Facebook
A Unitarian Universalist church on the Upper West Side of Manhattan found itself the victim of vandalism with two swastikas carved into its front doors on Tuesday.
The Fourth Universalist Society in the City of New York on Central Park West and 76th Street voted on February 5th “to offer short term sanctuary to undocumented individuals and families facing deportation,” according to its website.
“Our congregation has Jewish members, and even someone who fled the Nazis themselves, so the symbol has real power here,” Rev. Schuyler Vogel told DNAinfo. The reverend also said they are planning an interfaith event in response to the vandalism.
Unitarian Universalist churches accept people of all faiths. “Unitarian Universalists believe more than one thing,” according to the Unitarian Universalist Association’s website. “We are Unitarian Universalist and Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Humanist, Jewish, Muslim, Pagan, atheist and agnostic, believers in God, and more.”
New York City has seen a doubling of hate crime so far this year, according to the NYPD.
Contact Shira Hanau at hanau@forward.com or on Twitter @shirahanau
Report an incident
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
