Kristalnacht Comes to Highland Park

Highland Park, NJ - The sleepy Central-Jersey town of Highland Park, home to a large Jewish community, was on edge this afternoon in the wake of an overnight vandalism-spree.

The attacks appeared to be anti-Semitic in nature as all the businesses that were targeted have Jewish owners.

Shop-owners at two local kosher restaurants, two judaica stores and a Jewish-owned hardware store arrived at their places of business this morning to the site of broken windows that had apparently been smashed by bricks thrown through them.

Facebook rumors indicated that during two separate incidents, at least one individual made anti-Semitic remarks and threatened to launch a new “Kristalnacht” - a reference to the “night of broken glass” pogrom that occurred in Germany in 1938. One altercation occurred at the local kosher Dunkin Donuts where an individual allegedly threatened to return and attack “the Jews and their disgusting friends.” According to an eyewitness, the individual was escorted from the premises during his rant.

Another incident occurred during a regularly scheduled Highland Park Town Hall meeting where an individual allegedly made “virulently anti-Semitic remarks.” Highland Park recently elected an Orthodox Jewish man as its mayor. It is unclear at this time whether or not these incidents are related or if they are connected to last night’s vandalism. Nor is it clear if all the attacks were perpetrated by the same individual.

The scene in downtown Highland Park was one of disbelief as several local residents stopped in front of the targeted stores to take photographs of the incident. Locals business owners attempted to continue conducting business.

Speculation and concern over who was behind the incidents was pronounced as both the anniversary of the 1947 Partition Plan - observed by some as the “International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People” - occurred yesterday, and the anniversary of the original Kristalnacht was commemorated earlier in the month.

In another act of apparent anti-Semitic vandalism, the local Rutgers Hillel had a brick thrown through one of its windows over the weekend raising concern among students as anti-Israel and potentially anti-Semitic behavior on the Rutgers campus has recently been widespread.

At this time local law enforcement have been notified and are actively responding to these incidents. At the time of this post, details were still filtering in from local residents and no official statements have been made.

{Algeimeiner/Matzav.com Newscenter}  

Bricks were hurled through the windows of the Jewish owned stores.

Another vandalized Jewish owned store,

Vandalized Judaica store. 

Great Neck, NY - Nassau County Police are investigating swastikas on a 1998 Mercedes Benz parked at the Orthodox Babylonian Jewish Center in Great Neck. 

http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/article.php?p=114112

PHOTOS: Swastika Found In Williamsburg; NYPD Investigating Incident

Williamsburg – In recent months there have been numerous incidents of anti-Semitic vandalism in Williamsburg, including the discovery of a swastika in Kent Village Housing this week. These hate crimes, typically in the form of swastika graffiti in areas of Williamsburg with a large Hasidic population, erode the sense of security that has long existed for the Williamsburg community. While these crimes are being investigated by the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force, Council Member Levin is joining Rabbi David Niederman, Executive Director of the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg, Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, and other community leaders in a stand of solidarity to call for an end to the hateful graffiti and a restoration of a sense of calm and security in the community.

“One act of hate is too many, but I really cannot believe the amount of anti-Semitic graffiti that has been on display in Williamsburg over the past few months,” said Levin. “I find it incredibly troubling that there are people out there, whether kids or adults, who think it is acceptable to tag swastikas and other symbols of anti-Jewish sentiment around Williamsburg. We are here today to demand that whoever is perpetrating these crimes to stop—residents in this community should be able to walk down the streets in their own neighborhood without being fearful. In a community as diverse as Williamsburg, we must learn to co-exist peacefully. I applaud the NYPD’s commitment to finding the perpetrators of these terrible crimes and bringing them to justice, but we, as a community, must work together to ensure that this type of hate does not persist in our neighborhood.”

The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force focuses on apprehending perpetrators of hate crimes – unlawful acts committed against persons, groups or places targeted because of their race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, gender or age. The NYPD has always been responsive to the needs of Williamsburg and the community remains confident that the perpetrators of these hate crimes will be brought to justice.

PHOTOS & VIDEO: Swastikas On Yeshiva Of Brooklyn On Ocean Parkway & Avenue L [UPDATED 1:00PM]

“In the last few weeks we have seen swastikas painted across New York–from Midwood, Brooklyn to Midtown Manhattan and beyond. We will not accept these open displays of hatred, and those responsible must be brought to justice. I thank the NYPD’s 66th Precinct, Hate Crimes Unit, and Crime Scene Unit for their swift response to today’s incident, which is clearly aimed at terrorizing not only America’s largest Jewish community but also the nation’s largest community of Holocaust survivors.”

Click HERE to watch this video from a mobile device.

PHOTOS & READ MORE: FLATBUSHSCOOP.COM

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