Anti-Semitic Graffiti Found On New City Trees Painted Over By Landowner
NEW CITY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Anti-Semitic graffiti painted on dozens of trees in Rockland County has been painted over by the owner of the property, 1010 WINS reported.
A formal ceremony was planned Wednesday to remove the graffiti, but a rabbi told 1010 WINS the images were already painted over.
The swastikas and Nazi slogans were discovered last summer in New City. The large swastikas and pro-Nazi, anti-Semitic slogans were discovered facing the center of what appears to be an informal meeting place in the woods. The site is not easy to find, and somehow, that makes it even worse than the acts of hate that Jewish leaders have seen in the area in the past.
Jewish leaders say this discovery seems more unsettling than past hateful acts.
"Scarier and creepier. I didn't want to walk back there by myself, truthfully," said Rabbi David Berkman of the New City Jewish Center. "You wouldn't really know about it. Only the people who walk there would really know about it. To me, that was profoundly disturbing."
Police have known about the swastikas since July, and their hate crime investigation remains open. Rabbi Berkman says he decided to make it public as a way of fighting back.
Investigators said the height of the spray-painted graffiti indicates the vandals may be teenagers or adults.