2 men spray swastika onto Brooklyn yeshiva
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
(JTA) — Two men spray painted a swastika onto a Brooklyn yeshiva last weekend in an apparent hate crime, authorities said Saturday as they released surveillance video of the incident.
The anti-Semitic image, along with the men’s tags, or graffiti signatures, were found on the side of Mesilas Bias Yaakov in the South Slope neighborhood last Sunday.
The New York Daily News reported that the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the crime, but that so far there have been no arrests.
WANTED!! For ANTI-SEMITIC graffiti on Sunday 12/13 at 2:20 PM at 420 19th St, Brooklyn. Call Crimestoppers 800-577-8477. Photos in comments. pic.twitter.com/j0B0A2g2OZ
— NYPD Hate Crimes (@NYPDHateCrimes) December 20, 2020
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called the incident “despicable.”
“To the Mesilas Bias Yaakov community: your city stands with you. We denounce this vile act of anti-Semitism with one voice,” he tweeted Saturday.
De Blasio’s long and relatively close relationship with the city’s Orthodox Jewish community took a hit during the early days of the pandemic, after he drew widespread criticism for calling out haredi Jews as a main culprit in the virus’ spread.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
