The NYPD is investigating a hate crime in Williamsburg, after a Mezuzah was ripped off a door. Sources tell YWN that Shomrim (WSPU) had received a phone call on Wednesday evening reporting the incident at 75 Wilson Street at the Taylor-Wythe Houses. Police arrived as well, and confirmed that a Mezuzah was in fact stolen. The NYPD Bias Crimes Unit was called to investigate.
Council Member Stephen Levin issued the following statement to YWN regarding the incident:
“I am shocked and disturbed that a mezuzah — a religious symbol of deep importance to the Jewish faith — was stolen from the home of a member of the Williamsburg community last evening. We stand together against hateful acts and will pursue whoever is responsible until they are found. Just a year ago multiple mezuzahs were desecrated in the same community and the criminal was found speedily thanks to the work of the NYPD. I have full confidence in the NYPD as they investigate this crime and will continue to work with them through the entirety of the investigation.”
Rabbi David Niederman, President United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg and North Brooklyn gave the following statement to YWN:
“The desecration of a holy Mezuzah at NYCHA’s Independence Towers last night, reopens the painful wounds of the devastating Mezuzah burnings the community endured last year at the same NYCHA Complex. It reignited the fear of residents, especially elderly Holocaust Survivors. The designation of this heinous act as hate crime by the NYPD is right, because this is what it is, a religious bias crime. We are confident that the 90th Precinct and 1 Police Plaza will apprehend those responsible and justice will be served.”
(Chaim Shapiro – YWN)
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3 Responses
A lot of Brooklyn gentiles think a mezuzah is where Jews hide their money when they take off their black hats (which is where we usually hide our money). So maybe it was just a robbery, not a hate crime.
nfgo3says .
Don’t appreciate your joke. You make the authorities stop investigating with your theory.
To commenter no. 2: My comment was only half a joke. Gentiles have all sorts of crazy beliefs about us, and that was my main point. And just to be clear, I have a reliable source about the gentiles who think Jews keep their money in their black hats. Yes, I made up the part about the mezusahs, but I would not be surprised to learn that some of them believe that too.