Two New York sisters found themselves on the front page of a leading newspaper after a video of them tearing down posters of kidnapped children in Israel were captured.
Aya Baraket and Dana Baraket were captured on camera by the New York Post while they were in the middle of tearing down posters in the Upper West Side in New York City.
Aya, the woman in the tan turtleneck, was heard saying “F**k you, f**k Israel” to the cameraperson.
The woman in the green jacket has been identified as Aya’s sister, Dana Baraket. She was also heard saying in the video shared by a social media channel, “F**k you b*tch … f**k you and Israel.”
The pair’s bold declaration of hatred towards Israel propelled them toward the receiving end of intense internet scrutiny as netizens strongly criticized their antisemitism.
Dana and Aya Baraket received immense backlash on the Internet after the video went viral.
One of the social media users called out, "Someone is undoubtedly having a proud parenting moment right now. <sarcasm for you literal readers>."
Someone else commented, "These two punk college students should be charged with vandalism at the minimum, although I doubt the Manhattan DA cares."
"You see, she's a real go-getter. I knew she was destined for stardom. Movie offers are rolling in from Gaza City. She's the heads on favorite to land the starring role of Eva Braun in the Hamas biopic "Mein Kampf"," sarcastically said someone else.
"Taking down pics of kidnapped children is bad enough, but then tearing them up shows the true intent. Hate. Pure and simple," said another netizen.
"It is wonderful that they are now famous!!" quipped someoene else.
Someone else chimed in, "They deserve fame! They could be role models for your kids: 'How to not become when you grow up'."
"I'm sure they made their family proud to be on the cover showing there hatred!!" remarked another.
"These people were so hateful! Glad they in the front page !!!" exclaimed someone else.
Antisemitism on the rise in the US
Ever since Hamas's attack on a music festiuval in Israel on October 7, several thousands of people have lost their lives with many injured.
Per ABC News, at least 1,400 people have died in Israel with another 4,629 injured. On the other hand, as per the number shared by Hamas controlled Gaza Health Ministry, at least 9,061 people died and more than 23,000 are injured in the war-torn Gaza strip.
In a statement given by the chief field operations officer of the American Jewish Committee, Melanie Pell noted the rise of the number of antisemitism cases in the US.
Pell said, "We know invariably when tensions flare in other parts of the world, the reverberations are felt everywhere, including in our homes and our communities."
She added, "So we're really bracing for a very vulnerable time and thankfully, law enforcement is paying very close attention and is in constant coordination and collaboration with the Jewish community," per ABC News.
According to FBI, 2022 recorded a number of 1,124 reported hate crimes directed at Jewish people or institutions in the US. Per the FBI data, it is the highest since 1993.
Even FBI Director Christopher Wray pegged antisemitism at "historic levels", saying, "This is a threat that is reaching, in some way, sort of historic levels."
Wray told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Tuesday, October 31, "The Jewish community is targeted by terrorists really across the spectrum," and despite making just 2.4% of the US population, they are the subject of almost 60% of all religious-based hate crimes, per BBC.
Wray added, "This is not a time for panic, but it is a time for vigilance," before continuing, "We shouldn't stop conducting our daily lives - going to schools, houses of worship, and so forth - but we should be vigilant."
