Chabad of Staten Island, led by Rabbi Moshe and Chani Katzman, held a public Lag Baomer celebration in spite of anti-semitic graffiti found on a local yeshiva‘s walls.
Early on Thursday morning, hate graffiti was discovered at a Staten Island yeshiva; “Synagogue of Satan” was boldly written across an exterior wall. Rabbi Mendy Katzman, son of Rabbi Moshe and associate director of Staten Island’s Chabad declared, “2,000 years after the persecution of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, we’re still dealing with the same. But we’re still going to go out and be proud and stand strong!”
True to Rabbi Mendy’s words, the Katzmans led their community in a public display of Jewish pride later that same day. The outdoor celebration included a bounce house, story tellers, cotton candy and a bonfire.
