What to Know
- A community in New York City is taking a stand against anti-Semitism, hate and bias crimes during a unity rally Tuesday morning
- Rally comes after “Synagogue of Satan” was spray painted on wall of Chabad of Staten Island; DA says the alleged crime is being investigated
- However, Tuesday morning, as a show of solidarity, the black spray-painted words were painted over during a unity rally
A community in New York City is taking a stand against anti-Semitism, hate and bias crimes during a unity rally Tuesday morning.
The gathering, which brought together lawmakers and clergy members comes after an alleged incident in which graffiti spelling out “Synagogue of Satan” was spray painted on a wall of Chabad of Staten Island located in the Manor Heights section of Staten Island.
However, Tuesday morning, as a show of solidarity, the black spray-painted words were painted over during a unity rally.
The graffiti appeared as reports of anti-Semitic crimes to the NYPD are on the rise in the city.
Members of the community were initially considering keeping the incident quiet, but decided to speak out to double down on their message of love and in hopes that the suspect or suspects behind the incident is brought to justice.
“When cowards rise up ion hate their objective is to frighten and silence the Jewish community,” Rabbi Moshe Katzman said during the rally. “To those who want us gone, I say this: not only are we not going anywhere, we are redoubling our efforts to reach out to every person on Staten Island with love.”
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Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon said the investigation into what occurred is “vigorous and ongoing.”
“There is a lot of information we are working with,” McMahon said. “We are asking the community if they have seen anything to let us know.”
McMahon tells NBC 4 New York he is confident that the perpetrator or perpetrators will be caught and not only charged with a hate crime, but also trespassing since the wall where the graffiti was found is on the other side of a gate.
