Four school buses that carry children to local yeshivas in Williamsburg were spray-painted with swastikas and antisemitic messages, in an attack the NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force is now investigating. The vandalism was discovered Monday morning, adding another entry to a stretch of antisemitic incidents that have rattled Brooklyn's Hasidic community.
The buses belong to the Satmar, Sanz-Klausenburg and Tiferes Yisrael communities, according to vinnews.com, which reported that the graffiti included vulgar anti-Jewish and anti-Israel language alongside the phrases “America First” and “Free Palestine.” The outlet reported the vandalism occurred at approximately 5 a.m. near Bedford Avenue and Williamsburg Street West. The buses are used to transport students to local yeshivas, according to timesofisrael.com.
Other outlets placed the scene differently. TheYeshivaWorld reported the graffiti appeared on buses at Division Avenue and Rodney Street, while CBS News reported the incident was reported on Division and Marcy avenues, near the 90th Precinct in Williamsburg. The conflicting locations have not been reconciled in available reporting.
Hate Crime Task Force Joins Local Precinct
The NYPD's 90th Precinct and Hate Crime Task Force are investigating the vandalism as a suspected hate crime, per the vinnews.com report. No arrests have been reported and the investigation remains ongoing, the outlet said. Anyone with information has been asked to contact Williamsburg Shomrim or the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.
New York Attorney General Letitia James responded to the vandalism Monday, writing on social media, “This is despicable. Antisemitism and hate have no home in New York.” James, posting from her official account, urged anyone with information to contact local law enforcement.
Part of a Broader Pattern in NYC
CBS News reported that antisemitic attacks are on the rise in New York City, according to the NYPD. Separately, a Jerusalem Post analysis found that the United Jewish Teachers union tracked hundreds of hostile incidents across the city's school system from October 2023 through July 2026, with direct harassment, physical threats, assaults, vandalism and hate symbols like swastikas accounting for 64.8 percent of documented antisemitic and anti-Israel cases. That same analysis found Brooklyn accounted for the largest share of those school-related incidents, at 36.8 percent, followed by Queens at 27.2 percent and Manhattan at 24.8 percent.
Citywide hate crime statistics have become harder to compare year over year. JNS reported that New York City recorded a 182 percent increase in anti-Jewish hate crimes in January 2026 compared with the same month the previous year, but the city began publishing only confirmed hate crimes rather than reported ones starting in February 2026, complicating comparisons with prior years.
Other Recent Incidents in the Area
The Williamsburg bus vandalism follows other antisemitic incidents reported around the city this year. Fox5NY reported that the NYPD investigated whether anti-Israel graffiti found at a Capital One bank on Manhattan's Upper East Side was connected to vandalism at a Brooklyn subway station. And in Gravesend Park, two 15-year-old boys were arrested after nearly five dozen swastikas and other antisemitic graffiti were found painted on walls, a court and a slide, according to NBC New York. One of those teens was charged with aggravated harassment and criminal mischief as a hate crime, while the other faced multiple counts of aggravated harassment, the station reported.
No suspect has been identified in the Williamsburg bus case, and investigators have not released a motive. The NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force and the 90th Precinct continue to seek tips as the inquiry proceeds.
