Swastika spray-painted onto Brooklyn yeshiva in apparent hate crime

Police publish footage as New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio denounces ‘despicable’ incident

JTA — Two men spray-painted a swastika onto a Brooklyn yeshiva last weekend in an apparent hate crime, US authorities said Saturday as they released surveillance video of the incident.

The anti-Semitic image, along with the men’s tags, or graffiti signatures, were found on the side of Mesilas Bais Yaakov in the South Slope neighborhood last Sunday.

The New York Daily News reported that the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the crime, but that so far there have been no arrests.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called the incident “despicable.”

“To the Mesilas Bais Yaakov community: your city stands with you. We denounce this vile act of anti-Semitism with one voice,” he tweeted Saturday.

WANTED!! For ANTI-SEMITIC graffiti on Sunday 12/13 at 2:20 PM at 420 19th St, Brooklyn. Call Crimestoppers 800-577-8477. Photos in comments. pic.twitter.com/j0B0A2g2OZ
— NYPD Hate Crimes (@NYPDHateCrimes) December 20, 2020

De Blasio’s long and relatively close relationship with the city’s Orthodox Jewish community took a hit during the early days of the pandemic, after he drew widespread criticism for calling out Haredi Jews as a main culprit in the spread of the virus.