Parks and wrecked.
Vandals scrawled antisemitic graffiti on at least four public memorial benches this week in Prospect Park.
The hate-filled messages appeared on Thursday and included “F– k Israel,” “Stop Bombing Babies,” and “Israel = Terrorist State.”
A bench memorializing Lenore Sternlight, a retired Wayne State University economics professor who died in 2021 at the age of 97, was defaced with the words “F–k You Zionists, Kill Yourselves.”
“Seeing it defaced, it felt like their memory was being disrespected,” said a family member who bought a bench plaque — which can cost between $5,000 and $10,000.
The benches have been periodically targeted with antisemitic messages over the last two years, the person added.
“Hate has no place in our parks,” said a city Parks Department spokesperson. “When offensive hate speech is discovered, we work to remove it immediately.”
The NYPD was alerted to the vandalism, so they can attempt to identify those responsible, the spokesperson explained.
Antisemitic hate crimes spiked across the Big Apple during 2024, with 345 anti-Jewish incidents reported to cops.
