Goons deface Hamptons park with swastikas and antisemitic graffiti ahead of Hanukkah: Heartbroken but not shocked

Hate in the Hamptons reared its ugly head.Swastikas and other antisemitic graffiti were discovered in a Montauk park last week.The vandalism inside the popular Shadmoor State Park included spray-painted scrawls of Nazi-era references to “SS” and “der Jude,” the German term for Jews.And this was the second time that antisemitic vandalism was discovered in the posh east end enclave since the Oct.

7 attacks.Rabbi Josh Franklin of the Jewish Center of the Hamptons was “heartbroken but not shocked” when he discovered the hateful rhetoric in the park last Thursday, the same day that an Israeli flag was ripped from his own East Hampton synagogue.“I’m through being shocked because I’ve seen this far too many times,” he told The Post, adding, “there’s a sense of violation in the community.” An “emotional” Franklin said the incident elicits a “visceral response from my gut.”He also noted he’s regularly been called “baby killer” and “Nazi” in the wake of the 2023 massacre and ensuing war in Gaza.In a “impromptu” rally the rabbi helped organize the same day, a somber yet stoic Franklin told the crowd not to bow to gaslighters who try to paint Jews as “hysterical” for calling out antisemitism.“Listen – because [someone] might not be seeing something that we experience incredibly profoundly,” he said, “There is antisemitism and Jew hatred all over the place… This is our reality.” Longtime Hamptons residents expressed both anger and fortitude over the hateful expressions.“This is an attempt at intimidation – an evil attempt we see all over the world – and we have to fight it, like we’ve fought it for thousands of years,” said 86-year-old Mitchel Agoos, an east ender for 50 years.Last week’s incident was the second time in a little over a year that Montauk has been rocked by such brazen antisemitism.Last year, Jewish-owned Naturally Good on Main Street was among the Montauk sites vandalized with swastika...