Vandalism of Israeli hostage posters on Massachusetts fence investigated as hate crime
NEWTON - Posters of Israeli hostages on a homeowner's fence in Newton were defaced overnight Saturday and police are now investigating the vandalism as a hate crime.
Sunday morning the Kosowski family woke up to vandalism in their yard. Faces of Israeli hostages lining their fence now blacked out by spray paint or scratched away. "Free Gaza" was also spray-painted on a sign saying the family stands with Israel.
"They had to look at each of them as they destroyed them, blotted them out of existence once again," said Jeff Kosowski.
The display along Homer Street was meant as a reminder of the violence that took place last October, when the Hamas militant group attacked Israel.
"We really identified, obviously, with the tragedy of the hostages and we felt that one thing we could do for ourselves and for the community is to create some awareness," said Jeff Kosowski.
The display was up for months and was supported by neighbors and even elected officials. The mayor of Newton visited the Kosowski family Sunday to ensure them the suspects would be caught.
"People are saying, personally, how this hurt them," said Jeff Kosowski.
"We denounce such behavior, and our community has no tolerance for such bias and hateful acts," said Newton Police Chief John Carmichael in a statement.
"It definitely is scary that if somebody is going to so dehumanize even a child then they're going to dehumanize all of us and that is the first step towards physical violence," said Miriam Kosowski.
For the Kosowski family, a suspect caught may mean closure but the vandalism serves a bigger purpose.
"These are human beings," said Miriam Kosowski.
The Kosowski family said police are looking for suspects or the suspect involved but as of now, no arrests have been made.
"I would tell the person you're actually making our point, you're showing the evil that lies within you. We are not going to shut up about it, we're going to persist," said Jeff Kosowski.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said it will be in touch with Newton police about the incident.
"There are no words to describe the type of human who would deface the faces of hostages held for more than 160 days. This is just another example of the rampant rise in antisemitism in our communities," the ADL posted on social media.
