Gravesend yeshiva vandalized with spray-painted swastikas

A Gravesend yeshiva was vandalized with spray-painted swastikas late on Tuesday night.

The incident, which took place in the hours after Zohran Mamdani was certified as the mayor-elect, inflamed tensions in the neighborhood and online. Some Jewish New Yorkers have been critical of Mamdani, who has long voiced criticism of the Israeli government and support for Palestinians.

Mamdani, in a post on X, said the incident was a “disgusting and heartbreaking act of antisemitism … with no place in our beautiful city.”

“As Mayor, I will always stand steadfast with our Jewish neighbors to root the scourge of antisemitism out of our city,” he added.

A security guard at Magen David Yeshivah on McDonald Avenue discovered two red swastikas painted on a window and pillar at the front of the building at about 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 5 and called 911, police said. The building is home to an Orthodox Jewish elementary school and is part of a larger campus that includes a rabbinical college and an early childhood education center.

A security guard found the swastikas early on Wednesday morning and called police.Photo courtesy of U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis/X

No arrests had been made as of Wednesday afternoon, police said, and an investigation by the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is underway.

The school’s principal, Rabbi Ezra-Cohen Saban, said in an email to parents that extra security was onsite Wednesday as the investigation unfolded, according to the Daily News.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said “several” Jewish sites had been vandalized with swastikas on Tuesday, though details about the additional sites were not immediately clear.

Antisemitic hate crimes skyrocketed in New York City and across the U.S. after the start of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023, and the rate of antisemitic incidents has remained high since then. Many critical of Mamdani feared that his views could further embolden antisemitism in New York City.

Before Mamdani commented on the incident, U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis called on Mamdani “must unequivocally condemn this hateful graffiti…Time to represent and protect ALL New Yorkers.”