Amid the Israel-Palestine crisis, a New York City deli was vandalised with a swastika in an anti-Semitic attack. The 2nd Avenue Deli was attacked after it posted pro-Israel content on social media.
Lebewohl, the owner of the eatery, said that he was made aware of the vandalism by a tenant of the Upper East Side building. “This morning, we saw it,” Lebewohl said, according to New York Post. “It’s just horrible. It makes me sad.”
“It’s sad that people just feel the need to say they hate Jews in 2023. That people can just be so open about it. That Jew hatred is out therein now people just feel more empowered to say it,” he added. Lebewohl said that this is the first time a hate symbol was put up on his building. However, he said he has “always been prepared for that to happen.”
Lebewohl owns the building, and said that he was afraid people would “come throw rocks in my storefront” because of the Israeli and American flags hanging in his window. The vandalism left him extremely upset. “That’s a sad thing to say that if I would hang two flags in my window in New York City that someone would feel the need to vandalize my property,” he said.
‘This is a fight of good vs evil’
The deli called out the hateful message on their building in a social media post. “Thank you for reminding us that we are on the right side of history,” it wrote. “This isn’t just a fight about land. This isn’t just a fight about Israel. This isn’t just a fight with all the Jews of the world. This is a fight of good vs evil.”
{{/usCountry}}The deli called out the hateful message on their building in a social media post. “Thank you for reminding us that we are on the right side of history,” it wrote. “This isn’t just a fight about land. This isn’t just a fight about Israel. This isn’t just a fight with all the Jews of the world. This is a fight of good vs evil.”
{{/usCountry}}Lebewohl said he has been “careful not to be provocative” in any of the Israel posts he shared. Swaying a little from its usual food content, the deli has been posting updates on the ongoing violence. “I would never take pleasure, God forbid, in the deaths of Palestinian civilians,” Lebewohl said. “But there’s a big difference between saying that all civilians should be protected when you have a group of people that are purposely killing, mutilating, slaughtering civilians.”
“Everybody should be able to say black and white, teenage girls being raped, babies being killed in front of their parents, no context is required, every person should be able to say very clearly that is horrible,” he added.
Lebewohl’s uncle Abe Lebewohl founded the deli in 1954 as an East Village luncheonette on East 10th Street. The New York Police Department said that the vandalism is under investigation.