(JTA) — A large ultra-Orthodox community in New York State suffered a number of apparent anti-Semitic attacks on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Three youths were charged with hate crimes after allegedly throwing stones on Monday night at Jews in Monsey, an ultra-Orthodox enclave in Rockland County, just north of New York City. A fourth youth was charged as a juvenile.
Witnesses said the youths also verbally threatened the Jews and waved a baseball bat.
It was not clear if the youths knew the significance of the date, a police spokesman said.
Elsewhere in the country, public parks were defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti. In one case, local media reported, vandals spray-painted "Jews" with a line through the word on a number of park benches.
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) called the incidents "reprehensible."
"We cannot tolerate harassment and violence motivated by bigotry and hatred in our society," she said in a statement.
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