WEST HEMPSTEAD, NY — Jews across Long Island are on a heightened sense of concern for anti-Semitic activity after the war broke out between Israel and Hamas.
With that backdrop, a Halloween prank took on a new meaning in West Hempstead.
Neal Polaniecki was driving home with his kids when he witnessed “a large group of teenagers” carrying shaving cream.
As Polaniecki got closer, he saw several cars covered in shaving cream. He contacted the police, who would check out the scene. Polaniecki continued driving home and on Adams Avenue found more cars doused with shaving cream, “but they spelled out some anti-Semitic stuff,” he told Patch.
Even though Polaniecki, who is Jewish, alerted the police again about the seriousness of the graffiti, he had more to do.
“My goal was, I wanted to get a bunch of guys together and help clean off the people’s cars,” he said. “I felt bad for them.”
As soon as police finished investigating, Polaniecki and his friends wiped away the shaving cream slurs. A neighborhood front door was also hit with shaving cream, Polaniecki said. En route to the person’s home, he spotted a group of teenagers and let officers know, who were a block away.
“There were a lot of people who were very upset by this,” Polaniecki said. “But no matter what, we all come together and help out. When you do something to one of us, you do it to all of us.”
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