‘Zionist Rats Aren’t Welcome’: Jewish Woman Targeted With Slashed Tires, Antisemitic Note in NYC

Last month, the NYPD recorded a 70.8% year-over-year surge in anti-Jewish incidents.

By Shula Rosen

A New Jersey woman discovered two slashed tires and an antisemitic note on her vehicle while visiting family in Manhattan last week, police and family members said.

The incident occurred Thursday after the 56-year-old woman parked her silver Kia SUV near Marcus Garvey Park on W. 124th Street while visiting her brother, Yaron, in Harlem.

When she returned to the vehicle at about 5:45 p.m., she found the damage along with a handwritten message left beneath the windshield wiper.

“Zionist rats aren’t welcome anywhere but Antarctica or hell,” the note read.

Yaron said the discovery left his sister shaken.

“She was shocked. This is something that has never happened to us,” he told PIX11 News on Monday.

According to Yaron, the siblings had encountered another incident earlier that day while walking on West 124th Street. He said a passerby wearing a black baseball cap shouted, “Free Palestine.”

Yaron said he and his sister did not respond to the man, whom he described as about 6 feet tall, and continued walking.

Reflecting on the events, Yaron said he was concerned about what the vandalism could signal.

“It’s one of those things you feel would never happen to you, and if it does, it happens to someone else, not you,” he said. “This time it ended with vandalism. Next time it could be violence.”

Police are investigating the incident.

The case comes as hate crimes in New York City have risen compared with the same period last year.

Anti-Jewish incidents account for the majority of all hate crimes in New York City.

Last month, the NYPD recorded a 70.8% year-over-year surge in anti-Jewish incidents.

Overall, Jewish residents are targeted in over 55% of all confirmed bias crimes citywide, despite making up only roughly 12% of the population.