Eva Sack is a member of Congregation Machane Chodosh, a synagogue founded by Holocaust survivors who fled Nazi Germany — built without street-facing windows because its founders knew what it felt like to watch their synagogues smashed and burned.
“I happen to be a Holocaust survivor. And we’ve seen this hatred, and it doesn’t come from the bottom up. It comes from the top down,” she said.
What You Need To Know
Overnight on Sunday, people spray-painted swastikas and the name Hitler across five Queens properties, including the Congregation Machane Chodosh
On Tuesday, District Attorney Melinda Katz and other elected officials stood on the same ground where hate had landed just the day before, along with dozens of community members, to say enough
City Council Speaker Julie Menin pointed to a five-point plan passed in April aimed at protecting Jewish institutions, expanding education and strengthening hate crime resources across the city
Police have not announced any arrests
Overnight on Sunday, people spray-painted swastikas and the name Hitler across five Queens properties, including the synagogue.
“This is a warning for the entire city and not just the Jewish community,” Sack said.
“We come out time and time again and we are unafraid. But aren’t we tired of coming out? Honestly. Aren’t we tired of coming out every single time, but we do it no matter what,” District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
On Tuesday, Katz and other elected officials stood on the same ground where hate had landed just the day before, along with dozens of community members, to say enough.
“It is the Jewish community that is experiencing 53% of all hate crimes. And yet the Jewish community is a little less than 12% of the New York City population,” City Council Speaker Julie Menin said.
Menin pointed to a five-point plan passed in April aimed at protecting Jewish institutions, expanding education and strengthening hate crime resources across the city.
“We have a lot of work to do ahead. And this is why we fought so hard to pass this plan to combat antisemitism,” she said.
Jewish Community Relations Council of New York CEO Mark Treyger has spent years fighting antisemitism in the city. He said this moment calls for more than outrage; it calls for commitment.
“Never again is a commitment. It is not a question. It is a commitment. Never again to any community, including the Jewish community of New York,” he said.
May is Jewish American Heritage Month, a time meant to celebrate the contributions the community has made to this country. Instead, congregants like Eva Sack find themselves standing outside their own synagogue, fighting for the right to feel safe inside it.
“The community is behind us, and I think that is wonderful, but it’s not enough. There should have been a crowd here of hundreds,” she said.
Police have not announced any arrests.