New York, NY, January 7, 2016 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today said it was deeply troubled by the vandalism of a Hasidic Jewish home in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn.

According to reports, on January 2, graffiti was discovered scrawled on the home of Jewish residents, including swastikas and the words “Hitler was a hero.” The vandalism follows a string of harassing incidents against the home’s residents.

ADL has documented at least a dozen alleged anti-Semitic incidents since September 2015 and is concerned over various and unrelated assaults in which visibly identifiable Jews were singled out for violence across the five boroughs.

“This shocking incident, which based on the words used in the graffiti, was clearly motivated by extreme anti-Jewish animus,” said Evan R. Bernstein, ADL New York Regional Director. “It is deeply troubling when individuals are targeted, harassed, or persecuted for their religious beliefs. We continue to urge community leaders across the board, as well as our elected officials, to make their voices heard in denouncing such appalling acts of hate.”

ADL recently announced #50StatesAgainstHate, a new initiative to expand and strengthen hate crimes laws in New York and around the country in partnership with more than three dozen national civil rights, civic, religious and cultural organizations.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world’s leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry. Follow us on Twitter: @ADL_News