KRISTALLNACHT CELEBRATED IN BROOKLYN

Here we go again. I wonder if this wasn’t fueled by the anti-Semitism that has been openly expressed by a number of the Occupy Wall Street protesters.

‘IT IS THE WORST SYMBOL OF HATE’: SWASTIKAS SCRAWLED ON STREET AND CARS TORCHED IN ATTACK ON JEWISH NEIGHBORHOOD ON ANNIVERSARY OF KRISTALLNACHT

Mail on Line
November 12, 2011

Cars have been torched and swastikas have been painted on the street in a Jewish neighbourhood in New York on the anniversary of an infamous Nazi attack on Jews in Europe.

The vile attack, which also saw 'KKK' sprayed on a van, took place in the early hours of Friday morning in the Midwood area of Brooklyn.

The Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood is home to Holocaust survivors and has a number of synagogues and yeshivas lining the street.

The horrifying attack, which is being classed as a hate crime by the New York Police Department, coincides with the anniversary of mob attacks in Europe in November 1938.

Kristallnacht, or 'The Night of the Broken Glass', saw thousands of Jewish businesses and homes ransacked and burnt throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria.

The attack in New York has left several cars, including a luxury BMW SUV, destroyed. Eight park benches were painted littered with around 15 swastikas.

Others were tagged with 'SS', referring to Adolf Hitler’s brutal police force. 'Fuck Jews' was also painted on the street.

The fires broke out near Ocean Parkway around 5.30 a.m., authorities said. Residents reported hearing loud explosions shortly before.

Bobby Tebele, whose mother's BMW was torched in the attack, told Fox News he smelled smoke early this morning.

'It's a hate crime,' he said. 'I think it's a jealously of wealth, and then they use anti-Semitism as a way to express that.'

The NYPD Hate Crimes unit has joined investigations into the attacks.

'People are very, very concerned,' Dov Hikind, a state Assemblyman, told the New York Post.

'I walk these streets with my mother every Sabbath, my mother who went to Auschwitz in 1944. My mother went straight to the gas chamber.

'[The swastika is] the worst symbol of hate. People are very, very concerned.

'Unfortunately we’re used to the swastika, we’re used to the graffiti, but this is very, very serious. This takes us to a new dimension of destruction of property.'

Councilman David Greenfield has offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the attacks.

'We will not accept anti-Semitism in our community. There is zero tolerance for such acts of hatred and ignorance,' Greenfield said.

No arrests have yet been made, authorities said.

Police have collected Corona beer bottles, scattered near the site of the attack, as evidence.

There will be a strong police presence on the street tonight, the community’s Sabbath, authorities added.

In a statement, Manhattan Borough president Scott Stringer said: 'This despicable action was clearly taken to coincide with the anniversary of Kristallnacht, and its anti-Semitic message is unmistakable. But it was not just an act of violence against the Jewish community; it was an assault on human decency.'

Hillel Stein, 27, lifelong resident, also drew an eerie comparison to anniversary of anti-Semitic attacks in 1938.

'This is Kristallnacht all over again. People are expressing their hatred of the Jews,' Stein said.