Monday, November 14, 2011 1:00:49 AM
After an Anti-Semitic Episode, a March With a Message
Scores of residents of Midwood, Brooklyn, marched along Ocean Parkway on Sunday.
Eric Michael Johnson for The New York Times
By BETH KORMANIK
Published: November 13, 2011
Two days after the sight of flaming cars and anti-Semitic graffiti [ http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/11/cars-burned-and-swastikas-scrawled-in-brooklyn-jewish-area/ ] horrified a heavily Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn, residents, elected officials and others took part in a march on Sunday against hatred and intolerance.
The police were still investigating the burning of three parked cars on Ocean Parkway and the spray-painting of swastikas and anti-Semitic slurs on benches and the initials “K.K.K.” on the side of a van. The police are treating the episode as a hate crime. No arrests had been made by late Sunday afternoon.
The images of vandalism contrasted with the leafy streets of Midwood, an area with many single-family homes with front yards and driveways.
“I’m shocked it happened here, on my block,” said Ayton Eller, who carried an Israeli flag to the afternoon rally. “Can you believe it?”
The march, which took place on Ocean Parkway from Avenue I to Avenue L, drew scores of residents, as well as several elected officials, including Assemblyman Dov Hikind; State Senator Eric Adams; the public advocate, Bill de Blasio; and Letitia James, Brad Lander and Jumaane D. Williams, all members of the City Council from Brooklyn.
A contingent of protesters from Occupy Wall Street also participated.
“Today it was about getting together,” said Mr. Hikind, who lives two blocks from where the cars were burned. “When it comes to incidents like this, we are one.”
“With the swastikas, with the K.K.K., all together it paints a very ugly picture,” Mr. Hikind said. “If it was only the swastikas, we would be upset. But when you add the violence, it adds another dimension. I don’t remember anything like it in the 29 years I’m in public office.”
The episode revived painful memories for many residents of Midwood, which Mr. Hikind said had one of the largest populations of Holocaust survivors of any city outside Israel. He added that he was thinking of his 90-year-old mother, who lives in Midwood and spent time in the Auschwitz concentration camp.
“The swastika to you and me is terrible,” he said. “A swastika to my mother brings back the worst memories imaginable. This community in particular, this is a beautiful community. We almost have no crime in this community. That this happens is extremely disturbing.”
Mr. Adams said the march sent the message that hate would not be tolerated in any part of the city.
“At one time people were using Magic Markers to scrawl hate on walls,” he said. “Now they are using gasoline to blow up vehicles in safe communities such as this. We want to match that aggression with the same amount of unity that we will not tolerate this and we will not accept this.”
The march proceeded peacefully, but afterward there was a brief scuffle between two men, and one of them was issued a summons for disorderly conduct.
© 2011 The New York Times Company (emphasis added)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/14/nyregion/marching-after-anti-semitic-vandalism-in-brooklyn.html
Scores of residents of Midwood, Brooklyn, marched along Ocean Parkway on Sunday.
Eric Michael Johnson for The New York Times
By BETH KORMANIK
Published: November 13, 2011
Two days after the sight of flaming cars and anti-Semitic graffiti [ http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/11/cars-burned-and-swastikas-scrawled-in-brooklyn-jewish-area/ ] horrified a heavily Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn, residents, elected officials and others took part in a march on Sunday against hatred and intolerance.
The police were still investigating the burning of three parked cars on Ocean Parkway and the spray-painting of swastikas and anti-Semitic slurs on benches and the initials “K.K.K.” on the side of a van. The police are treating the episode as a hate crime. No arrests had been made by late Sunday afternoon.
The images of vandalism contrasted with the leafy streets of Midwood, an area with many single-family homes with front yards and driveways.
“I’m shocked it happened here, on my block,” said Ayton Eller, who carried an Israeli flag to the afternoon rally. “Can you believe it?”
The march, which took place on Ocean Parkway from Avenue I to Avenue L, drew scores of residents, as well as several elected officials, including Assemblyman Dov Hikind; State Senator Eric Adams; the public advocate, Bill de Blasio; and Letitia James, Brad Lander and Jumaane D. Williams, all members of the City Council from Brooklyn.
A contingent of protesters from Occupy Wall Street also participated.
“Today it was about getting together,” said Mr. Hikind, who lives two blocks from where the cars were burned. “When it comes to incidents like this, we are one.”
“With the swastikas, with the K.K.K., all together it paints a very ugly picture,” Mr. Hikind said. “If it was only the swastikas, we would be upset. But when you add the violence, it adds another dimension. I don’t remember anything like it in the 29 years I’m in public office.”
The episode revived painful memories for many residents of Midwood, which Mr. Hikind said had one of the largest populations of Holocaust survivors of any city outside Israel. He added that he was thinking of his 90-year-old mother, who lives in Midwood and spent time in the Auschwitz concentration camp.
“The swastika to you and me is terrible,” he said. “A swastika to my mother brings back the worst memories imaginable. This community in particular, this is a beautiful community. We almost have no crime in this community. That this happens is extremely disturbing.”
Mr. Adams said the march sent the message that hate would not be tolerated in any part of the city.
“At one time people were using Magic Markers to scrawl hate on walls,” he said. “Now they are using gasoline to blow up vehicles in safe communities such as this. We want to match that aggression with the same amount of unity that we will not tolerate this and we will not accept this.”
The march proceeded peacefully, but afterward there was a brief scuffle between two men, and one of them was issued a summons for disorderly conduct.
© 2011 The New York Times Company (emphasis added)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/14/nyregion/marching-after-anti-semitic-vandalism-in-brooklyn.html
Greensburg, KS - 5/4/07
"Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty."
from John Philpot Curran, Speech
upon the Right of Election, 1790
F6
Join the InvestorsHub Community
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
