A photo circulating on social media this week shows a Merrick Avenue Middle School student with a large swastika and an antisemitic slur drawn in marker across his back, setting off a wave of concern in a Nassau County community that one parent describes as heavily Jewish. School officials say they disciplined the student after learning of the post earlier in the week, and Nassau County detectives have since visited both the school and the child's home as part of an ongoing investigation.
According to sources who spoke with NBC New York, the incident itself did not happen this week at all — it occurred over the summer, when the child said he fell asleep and friends drew on his back. The photo only surfaced publicly in recent days, prompting the Bellmore-Merrick Central School District to act. The district said it learned about the post earlier in the week, disciplined the student involved, and contacted Nassau County Police, adding that it is cooperating with the police investigation and addressing the matter to the fullest extent under its Code of Conduct.
School officials have declined to confirm what punishment, if any, was handed down, citing privacy reasons. Police have not disclosed the current status of their investigation beyond confirming detectives visited the school and the student's home.
Parents Say Discipline May Not Go Far Enough
Word of the photo reached Moshe Spern of United Jewish Teachers, who said he was alerted by a Merrick parent and a teacher. Spern has expressed concern that the child who allegedly drew the swastika has not faced punishment, separate from the discipline given to the student photographed with it.
Merrick parent Paulina Todisco, who described her community as heavily Jewish, said she believes both the person who wrote the message and the student photographed should be held responsible. She also said a five-day suspension would not be enough of a consequence. Another Merrick parent, Sarah Martin, called the incident a hateful hate crime and said a week away from school would not change a mindset.
In a letter to the community, school officials said they unequivocally condemn antisemitism in all forms, and warned that student actions off school property and outside school hours can carry serious consequences when they violate district standards. District discipline can extend off campus when conduct can reasonably be expected to materially and substantially disrupt the educational process.
A Pattern of Antisemitic Incidents in Merrick
This is not the first time antisemitic vandalism has touched Merrick Avenue Middle School. Back in 2012, Nassau County police investigated a swastika found on an outside wall of the school, along with obscenities spray-painted about five feet tall in silver, red and green paint, according to Newsday.
More recent incidents nearby point to a broader local surge. A customer discovered antisemitic graffiti written in block letters outside a 7-Eleven on Merrick Avenue on Dec. 16, the same day police began investigating multiple swastikas drawn in a bathroom at Nassau Community College, according to the Long Island Herald. The outlet also reported that police found a spray-painted swastika alongside the phrase “Make America white again” on a Mineola home on Nov. 30, and that officers separately discovered five swastikas drawn in the snow near a Fairfield Avenue residence in Mineola. The Herald's reporting cited an Associated Press account that New York City police saw a 400 percent increase in similar incidents since the Nov. 8 election.
Statewide Numbers Show Record Assaults
The Merrick case lands amid data showing New York recorded 1,160 antisemitic incidents in 2025 — a 19 percent decline from the prior year but still double the 2022 total, according to the Anti-Defamation League's New York and New Jersey region. The same report found that physical assaults rose from 82 in 2024 to 90 in 2025, the highest number ever recorded in the state, with New York accounting for 44 percent of all antisemitic assaults documented nationally. Incidents statewide are up 179 percent since 2021, the ADL reported, and New York ranked second nationally for incidents at K-12 schools, with 141 reported in 2025. Nationally, the ADL counted 6,274 antisemitic assault, harassment and vandalism incidents in 2025, a 33 percent drop from 2024, even as physical assaults rose 4 percent.
New York's Dignity for All Students Act allows schools to treat off-campus conduct as a material incident when verified behavior — including cyberbullying — risks substantial disruption at school, according to guidance from the New York State Education Department. For now, the Bellmore-Merrick Central School District says the matter remains under its disciplinary process while Nassau County's investigation continues.
