An antisemitic message was scrawled on a homeowner’s fence on Wednesday near the Grand Central Service Road at 68th Drive in Forest Hills.
Yoni Fricker, coordinator for Queens Borough Safety Patrol Shmira, said that the message was written on a non-Jewish home, but visible to thousands of cars driving through the area. “It was just a very pejorative comment about Jewish women,” Fricker said. “We’re going to be cleaning it off.”
The comment referenced performing a sex act on Jewish women.
The non-profit organization StopAntisemitism.org first posted the picture online, and executive director Liora Rez is calling for the person responsible to be “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law by [District Attorney] Melinda Katz’s office.”
"As a female-led Jewish organization, we are horrified seeing such vile words spray painted on someone's private property,” Rez said. “What makes it even more atrocious is the fact it was done during Hanukkah.”
Fricker said residents are “absolutely appalled” by the action, which occurred in an area with a large concentration of Jewish people.
“The community should be more vigilant and look out for suspicious people,” Fricker said. “That way we can respond and get these people off the street.”
As Rez noted, the incident occurred in the middle of Hannukah, although Fricker said he was not able to confirm if it was meant to send a message about the holiday or just bad timing.
The 112th Precinct is investigating the incident, but Fricker said they do not have a suspect at this time.
He added that antisemitism is on the rise in New York, and that everyone should be cautious and watch out for one another.
“People think that it could never happen to me,” he said. “When you start thinking like that, that’s when things could happen, to anybody, not just Jewish people.”