A Max Rose campaign sign was discovered defaced with a swastika on Staten Island on Wednesday, and the congressional candidate says it’s a symptom of the “disgusting vitriol” dividing the nation and the district.
The sign bearing the Democrat’s name was found scrawled with the Nazi symbol and the word “No!” near a synagogue in West New Brighton, a neighborhood on The Rock’s North Shore.
“The political climate in this country — all the division, hate and vitriol — is sick, and I am tired of these disgusting anti-Semitic threats in our society,” said Rose, who is Jewish, in a statement. “This is not a Staten Island problem, anti-Semitism is on the rise throughout New York and enough is enough.”
“What we are not going to do is we are not going to respond to hate with more disgusting vitriol,” Rose continued. “I’m going to continue giving everything I have for this community, for the city, and for this country.”
Rose, who repped Staten Island and southern Brooklyn in Congress for one term between 2019-21, is seeking a return to Congress and to unseat incumbent Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis in the 11th District.
“There is no room in Staten Island or anywhere in our country for any form of anti-Semitism,” Malliotakis wrote on Twitter. “I am deeply disgusted by someone painting a swastika on a campaign sign of my opponent, who is of Jewish faith.”
The 11th is the city’s only swing district, and is seen nationally as something of a bellwether for both parties’ chances of controlling the House of Representatives.
The city’s Jewish communities have been on edge in recent year amidst an uptick in hate crimes, from offensive graffiti to violent assault, in the five boroughs. The NYPD recorded 149 antisemitic bias incidents in the city in the first six months of this year, compared to 106 in the same time period last year, according to its Hate Crimes Dashboard. Those numbers are likely significant undercounts as not every incident gets reported.
An NYPD spokesperson said a complaint had not been filed in relation to the incident.
