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Four school buses used by Jewish children in New York have been defaced with swastikas and anti-Israel graffiti, sparking a police hate crime investigation.
The buses, belonging to three non-Zionist Chasidic Jewish communities in the Williamsburg neighbourhood of Brooklyn, were targeted on Monday.
Photographs shared on social media showed slogans including “F*** Israel, Free Palestine” and “USA first” spray-painted across the vehicles.
The buses are used to transport children to yeshivas in Williamsburg, home to one of New York’s largest strictly Orthodox Jewish communities.
According to local news outlet Williamsburg 365, the vehicles belonged to the Satmar, Klausenburg and Tiferes Yisroel communities.
The New York Police Department’s Hate Crime Task Force is investigating alongside officers from the local 90th Precinct and Williamsburg Shomrim, a Jewish neighbourhood watch group.
No arrests had been reported as of Tuesday morning.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the vandalism, calling it “abhorrent” and promising to bring those responsible to justice.
“Every New Yorker – especially our children – deserves to live free of such hatred,” he wrote on X.
“My team is in contact with the NYPD and community leaders. We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to confront antisemitism, hold those responsible accountable, and ensure that hatred has no place in our city.”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul also spoke out, saying she was horrified that Jewish children could encounter such messages on their way to school.
“As a mother and grandmother, it sickens me to think of children arriving at school to find their buses defaced with swastikas and hateful antisemitic messages,” she wrote.
“No Jewish child or family should have to endure this kind of fear and intimidation.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James described the attack as “despicable” and urged anyone with information to contact police.
Local council member Lincoln Restler said: “Antisemitic graffiti on our community’s school buses is truly obscene.”
The vandalism comes amid growing concern over antisemitism in New York.
Police figures released last month showed hate crimes had risen by nearly 13 percent during the first nine months of 2026 compared with the same period last year, with antisemitic incidents accounting for more than half of reported cases.
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