Pro-Hamas vandals target New York synagogue

New York synagogue vandalized with pro-Palestinian graffiti amid ongoing wave of anti-Israel demonstrations.

By World Israel News Staff

A Conservative New York synagogue was targeted by anti-Israel vandals sometime last week, following a spate of other incidents of vandalism by pro-Hamas elements.

On Friday afternoon, officials from the Park Avenue Synagogue in Manhattan found that an exterior wall of the house of worship had been vandalized.

The word “Palestine” was graffitied underneath the biblical verse “How great are your tents O Jacob, your dwelling places O Israel,” with “Palestine” added directly underneath the word “Israel.”

Synagogue officials quickly had the graffiti removed, restoring the wall in time for Friday evening Sabbath services.

New York City Police were notified of the incident and an investigation opened. No arrest have been made thus far, the NYPD said.

New York City Councilmember Julie Menin denounced the vandalism as a “vile antisemitic act.”

“Today Park Avenue Synagogue was vandalized,” Menin tweeted. “As a former member of this congregation, I am disgusted by this vile antisemitic act. A house of worship is a sanctuary. Defacing it is an attack on all of us.”

Days earlier, pro-Hamas vandals smeared red paint on buildings across the city, including the home of the Brooklyn Museum’s Jewish director.

The city has also witnessed a growing number of raucous protests targeting Jewish venues.

Last Monday, hundreds of pro-Hamas demonstrators rallied outside of Nova Exhibition, held on Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, waving flags of the Hamas and Hezbollah terror groups.

While police have worked to identify and arrest violent protesters and vandals, the increasing use of masks and other face coverings by agitators has made it difficult for law enforcement to crackdown on lawbreakers.

This has prompted some Jewish groups to push for the reinstatement of the pre-COVID era ban on face masks in public.