Midwood Residents Angry, Frightened Over Anti-Semitic Graffiti
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- More anti-Semitic graffiti has been found in Brooklyn.
Assemblyman Dov Hikind was woken up shortly after midnight by neighbors who told him that swastikas and a hate message had been found near his home on East 5th street in Midwood, Brooklyn.
"I live right here. All over the community here, swastikas," said Hikind. "Mother just told me her 11-year-old said to her this morning, seeing the swatstika, 'Can the Holocaust happen here?' Unbelievable, unbelievable."
Hikind noted that residents appeared highly agitated by the most recent in a string of anti-Semitic attacks.
"Imagine coming home and seeing swastikas painted on your property? This is just the latest in a series of ongoing anti-Semitic occurrences in Brooklyn and throughout New York City, and people are justifiably very concerned and upset," he said.
"It is very upsetting. I have little children that can actually read now. When you read a sign like that and they ask me what it's about, it's very difficult to describe it to little children," said resident David Moore.
"My father survived the Holocaust from Greece and, for me, to come here and see this is shocking," said resident Ronnie Battino.
Hikind called on the NYPD to use every available resource to bring the perpetrators to justice.
"Everybody wants to go home. They want to come home and go to work and come back. They want to know that their family, kids and everybody is going to be okay," said resident Eli Tober.
Residents say police need to do more to crack down on hate crime.
"It's absolutely outrageous that this is going on," said resident David Rothschild.
"This is the heart of the Jewish community, a lot of Holocaust survivors. That swastika to someone might be grafitti, to people in this community is the ultimate symbol of hate," said Hikind.
What can be done to stop the growing trend of anti-Semitic vandalism in the New York/New Jersey area? Leave your thoughts below...
