Outrage after swastikas graffitied on Long Island school

Long Island locals rallied Sunday night after finding swastikas and anti-Semitic messages spray painted at Syosset High School.

The “Break the Hate” gathering at a nearby Jewish community center had been planned in advance of Sunday’s discovery, but it was reported that the roughly 400 attendees were likely influenced by the fascist symbols graffitied on the school’s windows, doors and walls. In the back of the school, profane messages about the violent MS-13 street gang were also found.

School Board Trustee Josh Lafazan condemned the crime in a statement released from Tel Aviv, Israel where he learned of the news while there for talks with government officials and activists about combatting anti-Semitism. “At the next school board meeting, I will make a public call to beef up security around all 10 buildings, so that an action of hate becomes an exception as opposed to a precedent,” he vowed. “As a Syosset School Board of Education Trustee, a lifelong Syosset resident, and a proud member of the Jewish community, I feel a responsibility to speak up.”

Local Assembly Member Charles Levine also issued a statement against the graffiti, calling for unity. “The merchants of hate and injustice must be condemned without the slightest equivocation,” he said. “Our community stands united against the evil forces that would pit one American against another.”