(JTA) — A man arrested for allegedly setting mezuzahs on fire in a Brooklyn apartment building addressed the accusations on his Facebook page.
Rubin Ublies, 35, of Brooklyn was taken in for questioning on Wednesday and later arrested.
Eleven mezuzahs were set afire on Monday afternoon — the day Israel observed Holocaust Remembrance Day — in public housing located in the predominantly haredi Orthodox section of Williamsburg. The next day, a mezuzah was found burned in another building in the same development.
Ublies has 37 past arrests for robbery, drug possession, weapons possession and grand larceny, according to media reports citing the New York Police Department.
After being named as a suspect based on security camera footage, he wrote on his Facebook page, ”When Jews burn wood and garbage on ebery(sic) corner it’s ok to pollute the surroundings.”
Another post reads, in part, ”I don’t hate Jews. I’ve worked with them for years, so why create an unnecessary problem for me when I’m on the verge of finally grow as a person?"
New York Police have been treating the incident as a hate crime.
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