Is Anti-Semitism Increasing in CT & NY? Swastikas Found in Wilton, CT and Spring Valley, NY 2 Days Apart

By Wendy Ann Mitchell (Patch Staff)

Monday, Sept. 8, Wilton, Conn. high school principal Robert O’Donnell emailed parents notifying them that a swastika was found etched into a student’s locker,Good Morning Wilton reports.

The school replaced the locker immediately “to minimize disruption of the learning environment,” according to GMW. School officials identified the person or persons responsible and are working with the Wilton Police Department through the school resource officer.

CBS New York News also reported Tuesday that swastikas were found spraypainted on sidewalks in Spring Valley over the weekend of Sept. 6 and 7. The neighborhood is a mostly Orthodox Jewish community in Rockland County, New York. The words “Hail Hitler” (spelled hail, not heil) were spraypainted inside a star of David.

Rabbi Yisroel Kahan told CBS New York, “This is something that’s hateful and it’s a shame and it will not be tolerated. It’s a combination of ignorance, hate, spitefulness.”

“We’re assuming it was teenagers cause the spelling was incorrect, but the message of hate is still there. We need to educate our children and our kids to understand to be tolerant of all races and all religions, senseless graffiti like that can hurt so much and it boils down to a lack of education,” Kahan said.

In early August Patch reported two separate incidents of vandalism in Pearl River,New York. In one incident, cars were spray-painted with racial epithets and tires were slashed on Lincoln Ave. The second incident happened over the weekend of August 2-3 when a farmer’s greenhouses were covered with racial slurs and graffiti. Vandals tore down a flag pole, trampled an American flag, released the farmer’s blind bunny and covered his greenhouses with swastikas and racist slogans.

In Connecticut, swastikas, along with the letters “SS” (Nazi Party) and “WP” (White Power) were found on traffic signs and parts of a home along Wilcoxsin Avenue and Charlton Street in Stratford in July. Stratford Police charged two 14-year-olds with the crime one month later.

The Anti Defamation League of Connecticut reported the number of documented anti-Semitic incidents in Connecticut increased in 2013. A total of 31 incidents were reported in Connecticut in 2013, which included 18 incidents of harassment, six incidents of vandalism and two incidents of physical assault.

Their April 2014 state-by-state audit shows a total of 203 anti-Semitic incidents in New York. This number includes 35 acts of harassment and threats, 22 assaults and 146 acts of vandalism. No numbers have been reported yet for 2014.

In April 2014 the Anti Defamation League of New York stated there was “a significant increase in violent anti-Semitic assaults. The Audit recorded a total of 31 anti-Semitic assaults on Jewish individuals or those perceived as Jewish in 2013, up from 17 in 2012.”

Barry Curtiss-Lusher, ADL National Chair said, “We must remember that there are people behind every one of these numbers, and every incident represents one person or an entire community affected by the trauma of anti-Semitism.”

“Every swastika scrawled on a school or rally held by a racist group demands a response -- by law enforcement, by the community, and by public officials -- to ensure that we reinforce the message that anti-Semitism is unacceptable in society,” Curtiss-Lusher said.

Photo: Anti Defamation League of New York website