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Neo-Nazis Hold Antisemitic Protest Outside a Jewish Performance on Broadway

The first Broadway preview of the new Parade revival, starring Ben Platt, saw the presence of a number of antisemitic protestors.

Parade, penned by Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry, tells the true story of a Jewish business owner Leo Frank, who is accused and falsely convicted of murdering a young girl in Georgia. This new revival was first seen late last year and was met with wholesale critical praise.

Appearing just before performances started at New York's Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, members of far-right hate groups gathered outside. They accosted ticket holders, shouting antisemitic slurs, handing out antisemitic flyers, and carrying hand-written signs. According to eyewitnesses outside the theatre, the protestors labeled Frank a "pedophile.” NGO StopAntisemitism expressed their outrage over the antisemitic incident.

The flyers also promoted the Goyim Defense League, an organization which StopAntisemiticm linked to antisemitic shootings in Los Angeles last week.

On Instagram, Platt reflected on the day's events: "...I got offstage and was looking at social media, and naturally, the news of the fact that there were some protesters at our show has spread a lot, and that has kind of [been] the stamp on the evening, in terms of the public perception of the evening."

He added, "For those who don't know, there were a few neo-Nazi protesters from a really disgusting group outside of the theatre, bothering some of our patrons on their way in and saying antisemitic things about Leo Frank, who the show is about, and just spreading antisemitic rhetoric that led to this whole story in the first place.

"If you don't know about it, I encourage you to look up the story and, most importantly, encourage you to come to see the show, and it was definitely very ugly and scary but a wonderful reminder of why we're telling this particular story and how special and powerful art and, particularly, theater can be. And just made me feel extra, extra grateful to be the one who gets to tell this particular story and to carry on this legacy of Leo."

The show's producers added in a statement: "If there is any remaining doubt out there about the urgency of telling this story at this moment in history, the vileness on display tonight should put it to rest."

California High School Continues to Employ Antisemitic Teacher Despite Calls for Resignation

UPDATE October 4, 2023: After several months of investigation into a Hayward high school teacher who used an antisemitic text as a class assignment, the Hayward Unified School District board voted unanimously last week to fire a “certificated employee,” who J. has since learned was Henry Bens; more here.

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UPDATE February 24, 2023: Henry Bens was placed on administrative leave after parents and students voiced their concerns over the antisemitic materials he presented in class; more here.

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Students in 10th grade at Mt. Eden High School in Hayward, California, were given antisemitic conspiracy material by their English teacher, Henry Bens, who on numerous occasions also made the “Heil Hitler” salute, students say.

Bens introduced a required unit on the Holocaust memoir “Night,” by Elie Weisel, by handing out photocopies of a pamphlet called “The Hidden Tyranny” and asking students to annotate and mark the text, J. has learned.

“The Hidden Tyranny” is a 1978 hoax interview that purports to expose Jewish secrets for world domination.

Students say Bens told his classes that the truth had been hidden from them and that he was helping them “remove the blindfold.”

“His reasoning for teaching it was because he was like, oh, you guys are indoctrinated,” a sophomore told Jewish News of Northern California (J).

Fellow English teacher Heather Eastwood learned of the material when Bens handed a copy of the text to a colleague, she said. She told J. she was appalled.

“This is something that was written as hate speech, and it continues to be hate speech,” she said.

Eastwood and several colleagues immediately reported the material to the school administration.

J. reached out to the principal of Mt. Eden, the president of the school board, the district superintendent, and the assistant superintendent for education, as well as Bens, but there was no immediate response from any of the parties. Students provided copies of the handout, as well as notes and recordings were taken during class, to support their claims.

Teachers and students said they made multiple requests for action on the issue, and for two months, none was taken.

“They did nothing to discipline him,” Eastwood said.

The antisemitic lesson plan was reported in December. On Feb. 15, a school official emailed the teachers and students who had voiced concern, saying, “staff has been directed not to use said materials; District is working with staff to create activities to repair harm; District is following board policy for complaints.” Bens is still teaching.

At a school board meeting that evening, several faculty and students spoke out against the teacher.

Senior Ruchita Verma hasn’t been directly affected by the issue, but she told the board she feels the behavior is unacceptable. She’s stepped in to help students organize, take notes on Bens’ behavior and advocate at the district level.

“The situation, it’s not getting any better; it’s still escalating,” she told J. “Just last week, a lot of students came forward and told teachers and peers that he’s still doing ‘Heil Hitler,’ the Hitler salute, in his classroom, and it’s just not okay.”

Another student, currently a senior, said he’d seen the same kind of behavior two years ago when he took the same class.

“I ignored what he said then,” he told the board. “I’m not going to ignore it [when he’s] saying the same anti-Jewish hateful conspiracies I heard from him then.”

A 15-year-old student provided J. with a recording they said they made while in Bens’ classroom in which he responds to the allegations, telling students: “I’m not teaching antisemitism. When people start lying, remember this — some people are [so] blinded by what they believe or what they think, that they use kids to lie.”

Passages from “The Hidden Tyranny,” which purports to be an interview with a Jew who is exposing Jewish secrets, include “Most Jews do not like to admit it, but our god is Lucifer,” and “I was taught that we Jews must become lawyers so we could control and strangle the courts, and even the judges unless they were Jews.”

Another student in his class told J. they felt Bens was manipulative and said he often claimed other teachers were lying to students. This student also felt concerned that some of their more easily influenced peers would believe the antisemitic screed. Verma agreed.

“He creates an unsafe space, and he’s transphobic, homophobic, sexist,” she said. “And I just feel really bad for these kids who must be in these spaces with him continuously.”

Bens, who has taught at Mt. Eden for over a decade, is also the pastor of a church in Alameda whose Facebook page lists it as a “synagogue” called Congregation Rehoboth with a header photo saying “Shabbat Shalom.” (The previous name was the Rehoboth Christian Fellowship).

Social media accounts under Bens’ name include videos of sermons given at Rehoboth, the use of Hebrew words such as “Torah,” “Parashah,” and “Shabbat,” and quotes from the Talmud. 

A Facebook post dated Nov. 6, 2022, calls 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust “converted Jewish people, whose ancestral origins are in southern Russia.”

The accounts also reference the three-hour film “Hebrews to Negroes,” which presents the conspiracy theory that Jews have stolen the identity of Black people, who are, in fact, the “true Jews,” a theory connected to the Black Hebrew Israelites. The film was in the news a few months ago after NBA star Kyrie Irving posted about it, causing a furor.

At Mt. Eden, one group of students took it upon themselves to create a form and send it to their classmates asking for anonymous feedback on Bens’ teaching; the results were shared with J. One student wrote that Bens asked the class, “how can I be called antisemitic for the things I say related to Jews, even though Semitic [in the dictionary] does not mention Jews at all?”

Another student made a voice recording allegedly of Bens that contained the following: “If I were alive during Hitler’s time, I would have an interview with him. I would let him share his view, as long as he wasn’t violent, as long as he wasn’t disrespecting in an abusive manner with his words, I would definitely let him share his view.”

“There aren’t two sides to Hitler,” said Eastwood, one of the teachers who reported the behavior. “There aren’t.”

In August, over the objection of some Jewish groups, the Hayward school district announced that it would continue to supplement the state’s required ethnic studies curriculum with material from the Liberated Ethnic Studies Consortium.

Vandals Deface New Hampshire Synagogue with Swastikas in Antisemitic Hate Spree

UPDATE April 28, 2023: The suspect, Loren Faulkner, behind an alleged string of hate-filled acts in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, has been brought up on 22 counts of civil rights violations.; more here.

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Authorities say they are investigating a series of hateful incidents of antisemitic vandalism that occurred overnight in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

The New Hampshire Attorney General's office said the Department of Justice Civil Rights Unit and Portsmouth police are actively investigating at least 16 instances of swastikas and other hateful messages being drawn with red spray paint on properties around downtown Portsmouth, including a Jewish synagogue, somewhere around 2:30 a.m.

“This type of hateful and threatening criminal activity, motivated by racial or religious intolerance, particularly at places of worship, has no place in New Hampshire and will not be tolerated,” Attorney General John M. Formella said in a statement. “We will work to find and prosecute whoever is responsible, to the fullest extent of the law."

Police have released surveillance of the vandals.

"The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office along with our local, State and Federal law enforcement partners encourage anyone with information to come forward," Formella added. "Our communities are safer and stronger when we all join together and have zero tolerance for violence motivated by hatred for our fellow citizens whether based on race, creed, or other protected characteristics."

White Supremacist Group Harasses West Virginia Town with Antisemitic Flyers

West Virginia Police are investigating reports of antisemitic propaganda being distributed in South Charleston.

Investigators have collected multiple bags containing propaganda in the East Hills area, according to a social media post from the South Charleston Police Department.

NGO StopAntisemitism has identified the antisemitic group as the Goyim Defense League (GDL), led by white supremacist Jon Minadeo II. Minadeo and his followers have been traveling nationwide, wreaking havoc upon the Jewish communities by spreading nazi propaganda and pushing Kanye West’s antisemitic messaging.

Officers have asked area residents to review security footage from early Sunday morning and contact police with information pertinent to the investigation.

Second Antisemitic Flyer Discovered at the University of Vermont

For the second time in a month, a flyer containing antisemitic hate speech was found on the University of Vermont campus in Burlington.

In a letter to the UVM community, UVM Hillel Executive Director Matt Vogel said a hateful flyer targeting Jewish people was found in a bathroom at the school. The flyer falsely indicated the Jews were responsible for 9/11.

Vogel said the flyer contained offensive imagery and defamatory statements about Jewish people and also encouraged others to harm Jewish people physically. This is the fourth flier found on the campus since July.

NGO StopAntisemitism has identified the antisemitic flyers and attributed them to Jon Minadeo II, the white supremacist leader of the Goyim Defense League (GDL). Minadeo and his followers travel the country terrorizing Jewish communities.

In September, more than 20 Jewish organizations nationwide spoke out following a U.S. Department of Education investigation into allegations of "severe" and "persistent" harassment of students identifying as Jewish at UVM.

At the time, the University of Vermont President Suresh V. Garimella released a statement that said, in part, “We denounce hateful actions and respond briskly and decisively whenever those responsible are identified. UVM is home to a strong and vibrant Jewish community ... As a community, we adhere to our common ground values of respect."

White Supremacist Group 'GDL' Targets Houston Neighborhoods in Antisemitic Flyer Drop

Sandwich bags bearing hateful, antisemitic writing and small rocks were found in the front yards of residents of the Riverside Terrace in Houston area Sunday morning.

It’s another example in a pattern of hate groups littering Houston-area neighborhoods with antisemitic flyers.

“I kind of freaked out about it,” said Richard Elbein, a longtime Riverside Terrace resident, who saw the flyers in the Ziploc bags while walking his husky Great Pyrenees on Sunday morning. As a Jew, he believed he had been personally attacked but later saw that other houses had the same bags out front.

He picked up dozens of the bags, which contained five different antisemitic, hateful messages until he realized there were too many to collect.

“From 288 to MacGregor Park, basically every house had one in their driveway,” he said, estimating there were about 800 homes with the bags.

NGO StopAntisemitism has identified the antisemitic flyers belonging to the white supremacist group, the Goyim Defense League (GDL). The GDL is a group of neo-nazi members led by Jon Minadeo II who travels the nation distributing antisemitic propaganda and enticing others to do the same. Minadeo’s dangerous rhetoric has inspired many to commit violence against the Jewish communities, like Jaime Tran, who shot two Jewish individuals in LA this past week.

The repeated dissemination of anti-Jewish messages in Houston neighborhoods is also part of a larger trend.

In Riverside Terrace, a historically black and Jewish neighborhood, the messages were spread overnight by someone who threw them out of their vehicle, according to a spokesman for Harris County Constable Precinct 7. According to ring camera footage from neighbors, the person delivering the hateful messages began around 1:30 a.m. Sunday. The spokesman also advised against picking up suspicious items and recommended taking photos of them to share with authorities.

A Houston Police Department spokesman said they are investigating the incident within their Criminal Intelligence Division.

White Supremacists Accept Plea Deal Over Antisemitic Hate Crimes

Two Florida men found guilty of spreading antisemitic stickers and graffiti in Ormond Beach two years ago have reached plea deals, according to court records.

Daniel Howard McGinnis, of Palm Coast, and Jeremy Todd Imbler, of Ormond Beach, were accused of plastering antisemitic stickers and using spray paint to scrawl antisemitic messages in Ormond Beach between Nov. 1 and Dec. 9, 2021, according to a charging document.

McGinnis, 35, and Imbler, 37, were each charged with being a principal to criminal mischief, which is a third-degree felony because the damages were $1,000 or more.

McGinnis reached a plea deal on May 6 in which his case was transferred to veterans court, which, according to the Florida Courts website, is "designed to assist justice-involved defendants with the complex treatment needs associated with substance abuse, mental health, and other issues unique to the traumatic experience of war."

If McGinnis successfully completes veterans court, the charge will be reduced to misdemeanor criminal mischief, and adjudication will be withheld, meaning it will not be recorded as a conviction on his record.

McGinnis was also ordered to pay restitution of $1,980 to the city of Ormond Beach, $100 for the cost of prosecution, and $100 to police for the cost of the investigation. McGinnis was ordered to have no contact with Imbler.

Imbler was placed on probation for two years, according to the terms of his plea deal filed on May 30.

Imbler entered a no-contest plea to felony criminal mischief, carrying a concealed weapon, and driving with a suspended or revoked license. Adjudication was withheld under the terms of the plea agreement.

Imbler was also ordered to pay $1,980 restitution to the city of Ormond Beach and to perform 50 hours of community service. He was also ordered to have no contact with McGinnis.

Both McGinnis and Imbler were ordered to undergo mental health evaluations and comply with any treatment.

A man who answered a phone listed for McGinnis on a police report hurled an expletive and hung up when a reporter identified himself on Monday.

The State Attorney's Office had not yet responded to a News-Journal email inquiring about the plea agreement.

McGinnis and Imbler were accused of placing antisemitic stickers on street signs, traffic light poles, crosswalk poles, traffic control boxes, and other objects throughout Ormond Beach, a charging affidavit stated. Some were also placed on private businesses, according to the affidavit. Street signs were vandalized with spray-painted symbols, including swastikas and “WW3 NOW,” according to a charging affidavit.

Antisemitic stickers were also placed at Main Trail, and North Nova Road, which the affidavit stated were intended to be seen by Jewish residents since two places of worship are nearby: B’nai Torah at 403 N. Nova Road and Temple Beth-El at 579 N. Nova Road.

McGinnis said it was Imbler who used spray paint, although McGinnis claimed he advised him against that, according to the affidavit.

White Supremacist Group 'GDL' Targets Virginia Area Town

A Norfolk, Virginia neighborhood is horrified by disturbing flyers found at their doorsteps. Several people found papers with antisemitic messages outside their homes this weekend. 

Many homeowners on Belvedere and West Belvedere Roads in Norfolk found plastic bags filled with corn and flyers with messages attacking the Jewish faith.

“This piece of trash does not represent people’s goodness or what they say is evil. This is a piece of trash at the end of the day," Norfolk homeowner Sarah Howell said. 

On Sunday, Sarah Howell found a bag in her front yard depicting what many are calling antisemitic messages. 

“Emotion-wise, it’s just an embarrassment for whoever did this," Howell said. 

Rabbi Levi Brashevitzky leads Chabad of Tidewater in Norfolk and said the hateful rhetoric is not breaking down his faith.

“It’s a time for us to work together and restore positivity and kindness. And we can do so by introducing or reintroducing acts of positivity, charity, and good and making it routine in our lives," said Brashevitzky 

NGO StopAntisemitism has identified the antisemitic group as the Goyim Defense League (GDL). White supremacist Jon Minadeo II is the group's leader and was recently crowned as StopAntisemitism’s ‘Antisemite of the Week.’

Howell said she threw the flyer in the trash and hopes never to see the hateful messages again.

“They should be ashamed of spending their time doing something like this instead of living something a lot more productive," Howell said. 

Under the Virginia Human Rights Act, the attorney general can investigate and prosecute religious workplace discrimination or any incidents in public and educational institutions.

Antisemitic 'GDL' Flyers Distributed Throughout Nashville Community

The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department is investigating reports of antisemitic flyers being passed out in Nashville neighborhoods.

Police said specialized investigations division detectives are investigating three reports of the flyers over the weekend in Inglewood. WSMV4 also received a report of the flyers being passed out in the Belle Meade area.

At least one of the flyers makes antisemitic claims about the media. Metro Police said that flyer was one of about four different flyers distributed with antisemitic messages. Nashville councilwoman Emily Benedict tweeted about the flyers, saying they would not be tolerated.

StopAntisemitism has identified the antisemitic group as the Goyim Defense League (GDL). Jon Minadeo II is the leader of the white supremacist group, and they travel the country spreading dangerous nazi propaganda against the Jewish community. Minadeo was recently in Florida, where he and several white nationalist groups hung anti-Jewish banners from Daytona International Speedway.

Turkish Police Arrest Teenagers Desecrating Jewish Cemetary

Five teenagers have been arrested in Turkey after the country’s largest Jewish cemetery was vandalized.

The Istanbul governor said 81 headstones in Hasköy Cemetery were damaged on Thursday night. He described their condition as “destroyed,” according to AFP.

Turkey’s Jewish community leaders had earlier said that vandals had damaged 36 graves at the cemetery around midnight.

The teenagers arrested were between the ages of 11 and 13. They are currently in police custody. An investigation is ongoing.

Turkish Minister of the Interior Süleyman Soylu denounced the act as a "heinous attack on Hasköy Cemetery."

"Those who try to disrupt our unity and solidarity with such provocative attacks will never be allowed," he said in a tweet.

The 600-year-old Hasköy Cemetery was previously vandalized in July 2022. In that incident 36 headstones were destroyed.

Jews in Queens Spat On and Harassed after Leaving Shabbat Synagogue Services

An antisemite harassed multiple Orthodox Jewish people in Kew Garden Hills, Queens, on Shabbos afternoon, prompting a call to the NYPD.

The first incident occurred shortly after a middle-aged Orthodox Jewish couple left Shabbos morning and were walking home on 77th Avenue. A young man purportedly in his 20s began to unprovokedly yelling and harassing the couple.

Several minutes later, the same individual approached two Orthodox Jewish men at the corner of 77th Avenue and 137th Street and deliberately stood directly in their path, refusing to let them pass and yelling that they should “show him respect.”

The men refused to be baited and simply walked around him, but each time would run ahead and plant himself directly in their path again, continuously demanding “respect” and threatening them not to touch him.

Eventually, after several minutes of this borderline insane and unnerving behavior, the individual spat on the two men and walked away.

A non-Jewish pedestrian who happened to be in the area at the time of the second incident called 911 and provided the operator with a description of the perpetrator, but there was no immediate response from the NYPD.

The antisemite continued walking up 78th Avenue toward Vleigh Place before disappearing. He was seen yet again Sunday morning in a gray sedan near Rabbi Bergman’s shul on 137th Street, though no new incidents have been reported today.

Oregon County Residents Hit Twice with Antisemitic 'GDL' Flyers

Antisemitic flyers, once again are being found in Lane County, Oregon first spotted across the Thurston community in Springfield; now, they are on the south side of Eugene.

One neighbor who lives near Tugman park said she and her fellow neighbors saw bags all across the streets and in front of their homes.

"Well, it makes me super sad to know that people in our community our spreading hatred and antisemitic propaganda,” she said. “I think that hateful speech and propaganda definitely have consequences, and to know that it's still happening in 2023 in Eugene is really concerning."

NGO StopAntisemitism has identified the group responsible for the antisemitic flyer drop as the Goyim Defense League (GDL). The white supremacist group is led by Jon Minadeo II, previously listed as StopAntisemitism’s ‘Antisemite of the Week.’ Minadeo was in Florida this past weekend harassing Jewish residents as they attended Shabbat services Friday evening.

KEZI 9 News has reached out to Eugene Police Department, and they said there are no reports of these flyers in their system yet, but they will check again on Monday, February 20th, when their hate and bias report comes out.

New Jersey Jewish Community Targeted with Antisemitic Hate Mail

Jewish residents of Linden, NJ, have reported to local police that they have received hate mail over the past few weeks, which has become a concern for the Jewish community.

“We received letters which say things like ‘We’re not done yet. Hitler was right!’ and other hateful messages, and it is of great concern to the community,” a resident who requested anonymity told Hamodia. “Several such letters were delivered to addresses of Jewish families. Some have contacted the local police, but the response has been sort of weak. It has many of us worried.”

NGO StopAntisemitism expressed their outrage and concern for the Jewish community in Linden.

Over the past few years, the city of Linden has seen an influx of Jewish residents who have purchased homes in the neighborhood and constructed infrastructure for the Jewish community. The recent hateful letters has alerted the Jewish residents that there is antisemitic opposition to their settling there, and they are hoping that local officials will take the threats seriously and work on uprooting any animosity towards them.

Students Flashed Palestinian Flags and Chanted 'Kanye' During LA High School Basketball Game

In Los Angeles, an antisemitic incident occurred Saturday night at a girl’s high school basketball game between the Shalhevet Firehawks and the Buena Park Coyotes, according to several Shalhevet students who were in attendance.

“The scores were really neck and neck, and it was just overall a very intense game,” a Shalhevet student, who preferred to remain anonymous, told the Journal. “My friend was standing across the gym by the other team when she texted me and told me they were chanting Kanye West at her the entire game. They were shouting at her and yelling that they would fight after the game.”

The student added, “One mom from the other side was standing with a group of students screaming, ‘where is the security guard’? When she found him, she approached him and accused him of pushing her daughter.”

Another Shalhevet student, who also asked to remain anonymous, said that some Buena Park students pulled the Palestinian flag up on their cell phones and held it in the faces of Shalhevet students.

“I started to feel really unsafe,” the first student said. “The game got very hectic. When our girls were shooting foul shots, some Buena Park students held up pictures of Swastikas on their phones to distract them.”

A student said the verbal confrontations continued after the game outside in front of the school. “People were yelling and screaming at one another, and again, some kept showing the Palestinian flag on their phones.”

Although there were no physical altercations at the game or outside, one student said she felt threatened.

“At one point, three guys approached my friend standing next to me. They were coming towards us, and I did feel really scared.”

The final score was Shalhevet 55 and Buena Park 59.

Despite the emotions in the gym, Rabbi David Block, Shalhevet head of school, said high school basketball games tend to get emotional and sometimes out of hand.

Rabbi Block also said that antisemitism is a larger issue that goes beyond one basketball game. “We hope in the coming weeks to have a special assembly where students can express their feelings with our faculty, staff, and guidance counselors,” Block said.

White Supremacist Groups Litter Antisemitic Propaganda Throughout Florida Beaches

Daytona Beach and Ormond Beach were targeted Sunday with antisemitic literature, police say, a day after white supremacists stood on the pedestrian bridge over International Speedway Boulevard holding anti-Jewish signs.

Daytona Beach police Chief Jakari Young said on Saturday, dubbed the group behind the speedway demonstration "First Amendment auditors."

Young said they are monitoring the group and that it is known to bait police with its actions.

"Their goal is for us to take the bait so we can do something that violates their rights and so they can sue the city," Young said. Young said the group was not seen around the International Speedway on Sunday.

However, StopAntisemitism, a nonprofit group that fights antisemitism, tweeted Sunday that the groups responsible were the "Goyim Defense League" and "NatSoc Florida." The GDL and their leader, Jon Minadeo II, are known for dumping antisemitic propaganda in yards in multiple cities and hoisting banners similar to the ones displayed Sunday.

As for the distribution of propaganda, Young said, "the person responsible for distributing this material wants to promote fear, hatred, and division! We strongly denounce any form of hate or discrimination toward any individual or community."

Ormond Beach Police Chief Jesse Godfrey released a statement Sunday decrying the action in his city. Neither Young nor Godfrey provided details on who was behind it or what was actually distributed.

"As chief of police, I want to make it clear that the Ormond Beach Police Department is deeply troubled by the recent distribution of antisemitic propaganda throughout our city," Godfrey wrote in a statement. "This behavior is unacceptable, and we strongly denounce any form of hate or discrimination toward any individual or community."

Both police chiefs said they stand in solidarity with the Jewish communities in their cities and will not tolerate actions that go against their departments' missions.

"We are calling on our great community partners to assist with this investigation," Young said, urging citizens of Daytona Beach to come forward.

Jewish Father and Son Stalked by Vile Antisemite While Leaving Shabbat Services In New York

A Jewish father and son were left shaken on Shabbat after antisemitic bile was spewed at them as they walked home from services.

Sources tell YWN that the pair were barely 100 feet from the Manhattan Beach Synagogue when an unknown individual began yelling unpublishable insults and slurs against Jews from inside a nearby playground.

The father and son hastened their pace, but the verbal attacks followed them down the block.

The incident has left many in the community on edge, with some Orthodox Jewish residents afraid of what might happen next.

“Incidents such as these have become commonplace in Brighton Beach,” one anxious resident told YWN. “There has been a pattern of incidents that have shaken this community to its core, though few outsiders are aware of it.”

“It’s an epidemic,” another resident told YWN. “We’re not sissies. This is out of line and must be dealt with accordingly.”

Swastika Etched onto Jewish Student’s Vehicle at Massachusetts High School

Officials at a Massachusetts High School notified police after a swastika was scrawled in the dirt on a vehicle belonging to a Jewish student.

The incident, which occurred earlier this month, involved a car parked outside Dover-Sherborn High School, Superintendent Beth McCoy said in an email sent to the community. McCoy said the antisemitic graffiti is under investigation.

"We will do everything we can to determine the source of this attack and to hold the individual(s) accountable," McCoy wrote.

McCoy's email condemned the incident and said Principal John Smith was leading several efforts to respond within the school community, including supporting students who are organizing an assembly, providing related professional development to educators, and combating stereotypes through teaching the history of various cultures.

"The presence of a swastika on our campus on the vehicle of one of our students compels us to unequivocally reaffirm our commitment to keeping every student safe from any kind of harm and to denounce antisemitism in any form forcefully," McCoy wrote.

"The first job is finding the culprit who did this just so we, kind of, know what happened and how to respond to it correctly, but I think the administration has been doing a great job," said junior Walker Adams.

NYPD Arrest Man Spewing Antisemitic Slurs,Threatening to Shoot Jewish Teen

Eli Irby from Long Island was arrested months after he directed an antisemitic slur at a teenager in Bayside and threatened to shoot him, police said.

Irby, 23, was arrested on Thursday after he threatened to shoot a 19-year-old at Bay Terrace Shopping Center and made an anti-Jewish statement on Oct. 20, 2022, at about 9 p.m., the NYPD said.

Irby, from Deer Park, faces hate crime and aggravated harassment charges, authorities said.

The incident came amid a rise in antisemitic hate crimes in New York City. In October 2022, when the incident happened, anti-Jewish hate crimes were up 11 percent compared to the same period in 2021. Antisemitic hate crimes were up six percent last month compared to January 2022.