Jewish politician's sign vandalized with swastika in New York City
The New York City area has continued to see waves of antisemitic attacks over recent years.
By MICHAEL STARRMax Rose, left, and Elissa Slotkin, center, seen in the Rayburn Building in Washington, D.C., after being elected in 2018. Both are in tight races to retain their seats.(photo credit: TOM WILLIAMS/CQ ROLL CALL)
A swastika was scrawled on a campaign sign of a Jewish politician Max Rose in New York City on Wednesday, according to the former congressman.
"A yard sign for my campaign was found defaced with a swastika," Tweeted Rose, who is running as the Democrat party candidate in New York's 11th district. "All the division, hate and vitriol is sick - but I am not going to respond with the same. I’m going to continue to give everything I have for this city and this country."
The swastika was drawn with black ink, and was accompanied by the word "No!" repeated twice. According to SILive.com, the sign was found by a resident defaced not far from a reform congregation synagogue.
"We won't back down," Rose wrote of the incident.
Rose was previously Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Defense in the Biden administration and formerly a US army officer. He was also the representative for NY-11 from 2018, but lost his seat to Nicole Malliotakis in 2020, who is running as the incumbent.
"All the division, hate and vitriol is sick - but I am not going to respond with the same. I’m going to continue to give everything I have for this city and this country."
Congressional candidate Max Rose
A Nazi armband with a swastika displayed in the Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin, Germany (credit: Wikimedia Commons)Antisemitism in New York
The New York City area has continued to see waves of antisemitic attacks over recent years. In February, antisemitic hate crimes increased by almost 400% compared to those in January, according to the New York Police Department. A June Anti-Defamation League report claimed that hate crimes in the city had increased by 196% in 2021 from 2020, with Jews accounting for 40% of the attacks.
On September 18, in response to a video of an orthodox Jew's hat being knocked off, ADL's New York chapter said "Sadly, this incident is one more in a long pattern that’s been repeated over the past few years. We call on people of good faith everywhere to put an end to this unacceptable behavior."
The swastika was used as a symbol of the German Nazi party, and is often used in antisemitic graffiti against Jewish institutions.
