Hate within the Hamptons reared its ugly head.
Swastikas and different antisemitic graffiti have been found in a Montauk park final week.
The vandalism inside the favored Shadmoor State Park included spray-painted scrawls of Nazi-era references to “SS” and “der Jude,” the German time period for Jews. And this was the second time that antisemitic vandalism was found within the posh east finish enclave because the Oct. 7 assaults.
Rabbi Josh Franklin of the Jewish Middle of the Hamptons was “heartbroken but not shocked” when he found the hateful rhetoric within the park final Thursday, the identical day that an Israeli flag was ripped from his personal East Hampton synagogue.
“I’m through being shocked because I’ve seen this far too many times,” he advised The Submit, including, “there’s a sense of violation in the community.” An “emotional” Franklin stated the incident elicits a “visceral response from my gut.”
He additionally famous he’s often been referred to as “baby killer” and “Nazi” within the wake of the 2023 bloodbath and ensuing warfare in Gaza.
In a “impromptu” rally the rabbi helped arrange the identical day, a somber but stoic Franklin advised the group to not bow to gaslighters who attempt to paint Jews as “hysterical” for calling out antisemitism. “Listen – because [someone] might not be seeing something that we experience incredibly profoundly,” he stated, “There is antisemitism and Jew hatred all over the place… This is our reality.”
Longtime Hamptons residents expressed each anger and fortitude over the hateful expressions.
“This is an attempt at intimidation – an evil attempt we see all over the world – and we have to fight it, like we’ve fought it for thousands of years,” stated 86-year-old Mitchel Agoos, an east ender for 50 years.
Final week’s incident was the second time in just a little over a yr that Montauk has been rocked by such brazen antisemitism.
Final yr, Jewish-owned Naturally Good on Primary Road was among the many Montauk websites vandalized with swastikas, alongside scrawls of “Free Palestine” and “Jeden Die,” translated as “Jews die.” Michael Nicholoulias, a 74-year-old Montauk resident, was nabbed for the felonies.
For Rabbi Franklin, it was a sobering wakeup name: “I helped clean the graffiti off the storefront, which was something I never thought I’d have to do as a rabbi.”
The East Hampton city police advised the Submit that it “turned everything over to the state” police, which is main the investigation.
“These hateful acts are devastating and heartbreaking to our Jewish family, friends and neighbors tearing at the fabric of our entire community. Fortunately, the love for community is stronger here than the symbols of hate discovered in Shadmoor last week,” City of East Hampton Supervisor, Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, stated in a press release to The Submit.
“Maybe it’s because we are at the ‘The End,’ but our community always stands strong together. We take care of each other. And we will continue to educate, create space for and keep safe every single one of our neighbors. As we stand for love, respect and acceptance for all.”
A “Stand with Israel” rally this previous July in East Hampton drew a whole lot of individuals. Rally co-organizer Agoos burdened the significance of unity within the face of intimidation.
“We have to stand tall, be tough, and find these guys and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law,” stated the Hamptonite of fifty years. “We’ve encountered antisemitism throughout the ages – and it reared its ugly head after the Oct. 7 massacre. We have to stand up and be strong – it’s the only way to defeat the scourge of antisemitism.”
For Charlotte Klein Sasso of Amagansett, who grew up vacationing in Montauk, and has lived within the space full-time for 40 years, the latest spate of antisemitism ”cuts me proper to my core. This isn’t the Hamptons that I do know.”
She stated her Holocaust-survivor father, who first got here to Montauk along with his fellow survivors who additionally fought within the Hungarian Revolution, could be shocked finally week’s hate show.
“He would have been right there with me on the [town] green standing up and not hiding,” she stated of her late dad, who fell in love with the ocean after residing in a land-locked nation. “He would talk about being proud of who we are, speaking out and encouraging people to come together and educate them.”
The general public occasions round Hanukkah ought to draw much more crowds, Jews and non-Jews alike, she stated. “This is about unity – more than ever.”
Franklin imparted a well timed message for Hanukkah, a vacation celebrating Jewish victory within the face of annihilation.
“Although there are those who harbor hatred toward Jews and attempt to intimidate us with acts of vandalism or violence, we refuse to cower in fear. Hanukkah teaches us to spread light, even in the face of darkness. This is not merely an act of resistance—it is the sacred responsibility inherent in the story of Hanukkah,” he stated.
“For those who are not Jewish, we warmly invite you to join in this mission of kindling spiritual light to dispel the darkness. Stand with your local Jewish communities, participate in a menorah lighting, and, while you’re at it, share some latkes with your Jewish friends. Together, we can illuminate the world.”
