Multiple synagogues and private homes in New York City were vandalized Sunday night into Monday morning with swastikas and other antisemitic graffiti, prompting an investigation by city authorities and condemnation from Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who said there was “no place” for such an attack.
Photos circulating online show black swastikas circled in red spray-painted across synagogue walls, Jewish community centers, and residential properties in Queens, including a plaque honoring survivors of Kristallnacht.
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Mamdani framed the attacks as part of a broader pattern of antisemitic intimidation. “I am horrified and angered by the swastikas painted on homes and synagogues in Queens, including on a plaque honoring survivors of Kristallnacht,” he said, emphasizing that the act was “not just vandalism — it is a deliberate act of antisemitic hatred meant to instill fear.”
He added that there is “no place for antisemitism” in the city and expressed confidence that the New York Police Department’s Hate Crimes Task Force would hold those responsible accountable.
City officials who visited the affected sites described the immediate impact on the community.
New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin said what began as an ordinary morning for families and congregants quickly turned into something far more disturbing. “When rabbis and congregants arrived to pray this morning, they expected to be met with their usual loving community. … Instead, they were met with terrifying signals of hatred and threats of violence,” she said.
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Menin noted that multiple locations, including Congregation Machane Chodosh in Forest Hills, were targeted, and that officials are working closely with police as they search for at least four individuals believed to be involved.
She added that the graffiti will be removed once the investigation is complete and warned that “with antisemitism on the rise here and across the globe, we will always stand up for our Jewish community and fight back against hate.”
