2 men spray swastika onto Brooklyn yeshiva
(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.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
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.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30