The Rabbinical Alliance of America — Igud HaRabbonim, representing over 950 American Rabbis — condemns the anti-Semitic vandalism perpetrated against New York State Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright, whose door of her Manhattan home was splashed with paint and under whose office’s door was placed a vulgar, anti-Semitic note. The Rabbinical Alliance of America offers sympathy to Assembly Member Seawright and calls upon the authorities to prioritize this matter as a hate crime and to fully investigate, apprehend and prosecute the perpetrator(s) of this heinous act of hate to the fullest extent permitted by law.
Rabbi Mendy Mirocznik, executive vice-president of the Rabbinical Alliance of America, praised Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie's condemnation of the incident. “The Assembly majority has always been very clear that we have a zero-tolerance policy for any form of hate, including anti-Semitism,” Heastie said in a statement.
Mirocznik stated that the only way to combat anti-Semitism, racism and bigotry is by sending a strong, clear message that such vulgar behavior will not be tolerated in this society. “Speaker Heastie has shown bold leadership and has placed actual and would-be perpetrators on notice that such hateful bigoted, acts have no room in New York. The Rabbinical Alliance of America applauds the Speaker for swiftly doing so.”
The Rabbinical Alliance of America further applauds Assembly Member Seawright’s bold stance that she has taken against anti-Semitism, hate and bigotry. Just last month Assembly Member Seawright held a virtual town hall on fighting anti-Semitism, as she had previously done in 2019 after swastikas were found on a fitness complex in her district. Rabbi Mirocznik said, “It is only when good people speak up and stand united against hate, bigotry and anti-Semitism — like Speaker Hastie and Assembly Member Seawright have done — that will we be victorious and win the war on hate, bigotry and anti-Semitism.”