Hundreds Attend 'Break The Hate' Rally

PLAINVIEW, NY - About 400 people filled a local community center during a "Break the Hate" rally in Plainview held after the recent discovery of anti-Semitic graffiti at Syosset High School.

The rally took place on Sunday night at the Mid-Island Y Jewish Community Center on 45 Manetto Hill Road.

United States Congressman Thomas R. Suozzi was the featured speaker for the event. The rally was also attended by interfaith clergy members and community leaders, and Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino.

"There's so much more that we share in common with each other than divides us," Suozzi said during the event. "And a turnout like this, a community coming together like this from all different backgrounds is the message that we need right now, that love is more important than hate, that we've got to work together and stand vigilant against the haters."

During the event, the crowd broke out in a rendition of the song "Lean on Me" by Bill Withers.

Local rabbi and Syosset resident Jay Weinstein also spoke during the rally.

"Each of us has the power to make a difference, but that power sometimes seems limited," he said. "When we come together like we are doing tonight - in unity and solidarity - we expand our own potential exponentially."

The event featured both Democratic and Republican speakers, emphasizing the importance of bipartisan responses to hate.

On Sunday morning, a school security officer discovered that the walls, doors and windows in the back of Syosset High School on 70 Southwoods Road, was sprayed painted with anti-Semitic writings that included swastikas.

In addition, ‘MS13” and other profanities were found written in various colors of spray paint.

Many local officials also spoke out after the incident.