I am sure many of you will read this and initially go beserk, but many of you might wait a minute and think twice, and maybe this will resonate with you. Since the horrific Hamas attack on Simchas Torah, many have taken upon themselves things to do to help Israel. Some have strengthened their yiddishkeit, others have found a way to assist Israel through donations, and many – such as myself – have done both. But here in Brooklyn, some people found their own way to “help” which has been anything but helpful. For the past number of weeks, signs of the hostages and art depicting the Israeli flag have been put up in heavily Jewish neighborhoods. From what I’m told, it’s the work of two women (mainly one) who have made amplifying the plight of the hostages and Israel’s right to survival their sole mission. I don’t have a problem with the concept of being pro-Israel or of trying to increase the general public’s awareness and empathy for the hostages and their poor families. But the way it is being done has not only been unhelpful, it is actually bringing danger closer to Jewish people. As noted before, the signs have been put up in heavily Jewish areas. So, what happens? Pro-Palestinian individuals come and take them down, or paint over them with Palestinian flags and messages. The pro-Israel signs are put back up, and the pro-Palestinian people return. It has become an endless back-and-forth cycle that doesn’t do anything for anyone, and is only increasing tension and setting the stage for an awful brawl – or worse – to occur, smack in middle of Jewish neighborhoods. And it’s already happened. There have been fist fights, attacks, assaults and more. I get that you want to have these signs up, but does it have to be outside Landau’s Shul? Is there a single mispalel that isn’t aware of what’s going on? Are you actually accomplishing anything with that sign? But the worst is that a Yeshiva on Avenue N and Coney Island Avenue has allegedly given this woman permission (which is a topic for another letter, and they should be held accountable for) to plaster their property under construction with the posters. Who exactly are you trying to persuade – 8-year-old Rivky as she enters and exits school, hoping that a pro-Palestinian person doesn’t go berserk from the signs when she’s there? Well, that’s what has now happened. On Sunday morning, an entire wall of hostage photos was ripped down, and a huge wall of graffiti with “Free Palestine” was painted. So guess what happened on Sunday night? This incredible Tzadiekis, on her mission to save the world, showed up at the location and spray painted over the Palestinian graffiti with pro-Israel graffiti. What do you think will happen next? Exactly! Pro-Palestinian graffiti will now be placed on TOP of that, and this cycle will never end. If you own a property under construction in Flatbush and you see this woman defacing your property on a quiet residential street, embrace her! Give her permission to hang as many posters as you want. When you then have “FREE PALESTINE” written all over your property, don’t worry. Just call her and her cans of spray-paint back, and she will gladly deface your […]