Unidentified perpetrators have defaced a poster of Ruth Bader Ginsburg at a subway station in Brooklyn, drawing a crude swastika on it along with a simple message: “Die, Jew b*tch!”
According to The Times of Israel, the poster in question was in fact an ad for a book titled "The Unstoppable Ruth Bader Ginsburg: American Icon”, while the New York City Transit Authority was notified of this act of vandalism on Tuesday and has already removed the “offensive imagery”.
The NYPD has already announced that it is looking into the incident, stating on Twitter that “there is no room for hate in NYC”.
.@NYPDTransit and @NYPDHateCrimes are looking into this incident.
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) 13 марта 2019 г.
There is no room for hate in NYC
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also condemned this act, with many people echoing his outrage on social media.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg represents the very best of our city.
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) 13 марта 2019 г.
We’ll find whoever is responsible for this anti-Semitic trash and ensure they face consequences for trying to spread hate in New York City. If you have any information on this despicable act, please contact the NYPD. https://t.co/qff5nV7OE1
I want the perpetrator(s) found and brought to justice. Anyone else?
— Ellen Spivak (@EllenSpivak) 14 марта 2019 г.
It is by definition a hate crime.
— Mark Potomac (@MarkPotomac) 14 марта 2019 г.
Some netizens, however, speculated that this vandalism may possibly be a hoax.
My guess it’s a typical hate crime hoax
— romello delomand (@RomelloDelomand) 14 марта 2019 г.
Police are looking for someone with a big nose who likes to use the phrase "Dear fellow white people".
— 6oodfella (@600DFELLA) 14 марта 2019 г.
I bet it was the same guys who attacked #JussieSmollet.
— From Hebron. (@keithfhamilton) 14 марта 2019 г.
In December, a somewhat similar incident also took place in Brooklyn, when someone also drew drew two 12-inch red swastikas on the door of an elderly Jewish woman’s apartment in Brooklyn.
READ MORE: Vandal Draws Swastikas On Holocaust Survivor Spouse’s Residence in NYC – Report
Commenting on that development, NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea remarked that the city witnessed a “4 per cent increase in hate crimes” in 2018, and that the vast majority of such crimes are "anti-Semitic in nature".