"Gas the Jews" Graffiti Scrawled Inside NYC Bus Prompts Police Hate Crime Investigation
Gas the Jews
An antisemitic vandal scrawled “Gas the Jews” inside an MTA bus in Queens Wednesday, a vile act that has been referred to the NYPD’s hate crimes unit for investigation, The Post has learned.
Commuter Talea Wufka, who is Jewish, saw the hateful message inscribed on the back seat of the Q49 bus that runs through East Elmhurst and Jackson Heights. The shaken and offended passenger, 52, took a phone snap of the hateful graffiti and forwarded it to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
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Why so much hate?
The bus was then immediately withdrawn from service so the grafitti could be removed, according to the MTA. Wufka also reported the incident to the NYPD after consulting with her Democratic District leader, Hiram Monserrate. “Why so much hate? I just can’t understand it,” Wufka said in a statement provided to The Post. Monserrate said: “This incident impacted Ms. Wufka greatly and she was understandably distraught. We see hatred and confusion on our televisions every day.
No Room for Antisemitism
“There is no room for antisemitism or hate of any kind in our community. We will never tolerate this; we will call it out and we will always strongly stand against it,” added Monserrate, a former state senator and councilman. He noted when he was a police officer, he was assigned to quell riots against Jewish people in Crown Heights in the 1990s. Both the MTA and the NYPD said they immediately responded to the complaint.
“I can confirm Bus #4208 was in service eastbound at Broadway and 74th Street in Jackson Heights when it was reported to the bus operator by a passenger that there was inappropriate graffiti on the rear seat,” said MTA spokesman Tim Minton. “The report was verified by the operator, who relayed it to the transit bus command center, which directed the bus be immediately removed from passenger service so the vandalized seat could be cleaned.
The Hate Crime Task Force was Notified
Approximately 10 riders on the vandalized bus transferred to the next following bus to continue their trips.” An NYPD spokesperson added: “The Hate Crime Task Force was notified of the incident. There are no arrests and the investigation is ongoing.” The Q49 bus runs through neighborhoods with sizable populations of both Jewish and Muslim people. Both the Jackson Heights Jewish Center and the Congregation Tifereth Israel of Jackson Heights synagogue are served by the bus route.
Disruptions of the Thanksgiving Day Parade
The antisemitic incident comes as tensions reach a fevered pitch over the Hamas-Israel war in the Middle East, which has triggered a dramatic increase in hate crimes against Jews and Muslims, and numerous pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protests, including disruptions Thursday of the Thanksgiving Day Parade.
