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Anti-Semitic Midwood Vandalism Possibly An Insurance Scam, Not Hate Crime
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 11, 2012
Modified Jan 11, 2012
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 11, 2012
Modified Jan 11, 2012
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Last November, vandals torched three cars, tried to burn a fourth, and scrawled anti-semitic graffiti on a nearby van and benches in the heavily Orthodox Jewish section of Midwood. Police still have made no arrests in the arson case, but they say it may have not been the hate crime it was once assumed to be: officials have told community members that they believe the attack was an insurance scam. "From day one, cops didn't believe that it was an anti-Semitic incident because you never see Swastikas and KKK signs together," one source told the Post.
Police believe the graffiti was scrawled after the firebombings to make it look like a hate crime. “We’re investigating the possibility that some of the evidence was manufactured to make this look like a bias crime,’’ one source told the News. They grew suspicious when they discovered the owner of one of the torched cars didn't live in the neighborhood. “That’s what tipped off the detectives...We don’t think it’s about hating Jews,’’ another source added.
As for the 27 empty Corona bottles which were found discarded at the scene, investigators believe they were also part of the ruse—they had been wiped clean of fingerprints, "suggesting the work of someone meticulous, not someone lashing out in hate."
While cops may have been suspicious, politicians including Councilman Dov Hikind (who lives nearby), Councilman David Greenfield, State Senator Eric Adams, Congressman Bob Turner, Mayor Bloomberg and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio were convinced that this was a hate crime at the time of the firebombing, and they all spoke out against the vandalism. Aiding that narrative was the timing of the attack: it occurred a day after the anniversary of Kristallnacht, when Nazis attacked synagogues and other Jewish establishments in 1939. “Whoever it is is reasonably intelligent because I don’t think it’s a coincidence at all that they chose to do this horrific thing that near the anniversary of Kristallnacht,” Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said at the time.
Tagged
anti semitism
arson
brooklyn
cops
insurance scam
jews
midwood
nypd
ocean parkway
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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