Rep. Dan Goldman’s Brooklyn office was defaced Thursday night with pro-Palestinian graffiti that read “Blood on ur [sic] hands,” “free Palestine,” and “let Gaza live.”
The slogans were spray painted by at least two suspects on the facade of the Jewish Democrat’s Park Slope district office and on the sidewalk out front, photos on social media show.
“This is what [Rep. Goldman] & staff confronted when they showed up to work today,” tweeted a fellow Brooklyn Democratic official, Doug Schneider, who shared the photos.
“It is a direct result of his speaking out against anti-Semitism & supporting Israel’s right to self-defense. Defacing his office is not a form of protest, it is a deplorable crime.”
NYPD officers were already on the scene when the first Goldman staffer arrived at the building at around 8:50 a.m. Friday, a spokesperson for the lawmaker told the Jewish Telegraph Agency.
The building’s security cameras captured at least two people vandalizing the building, but the perps covered the camera with a plastic bag, making the images unclear, Goldman’s office told the outlet.
“Our office is accessible 24/7 by appointment, phone, social media, email, or mail, and our incredible constituent services team works around the clock to respond to outreach. Harassing, intimidating, and outright attacking the staff of a Jewish elected official at a time of rising violence and rampant antisemitism is dangerous and unacceptable.” Simone Kanter, the lawmaker’s communications director, told The Post in a statement.
Members of New York’s Democratic congressional delegation condemned the vandalism Friday and urged protesters to not let “disagreements turn us against each other and inflame violence here at home.”
“We stand together to condemn the vandalism discovered this morning targeting Representative Dan Goldman’s district office. While everyone has a first amendment right to peacefully protest and make their voice heard, that must not extend to intimidating staff or outright criminal behavior,” Reps. Jerry Nadler, Jamaal Bowman, Yvette Clarke, Adriano Espaillat, Hakeem Jeffries, Gregory Meeks, Grace Meng, Joseph Morelle, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Pat Ryan, Paul Tonko, Ritchie Torres and Nydia Velazquez said in a joint statement.
“This is a deeply personal and emotional issue for all who care about a future of peace for both the Israeli and Palestinian people, but we cannot let our disagreements turn us against each other and inflame violence here at home,” they added.
Goldman, who was in Israel when Hamas terrorists stormed the Jewish state’s border with Gaza on Oct. 7 and slaughtered 1,200 people, has been a supporter of Israel’s war against the terror group.
“Israel has an absolute right – indeed a moral obligation – to defend its citizens and borders in response to Hamas’s horrific terrorist attack,” he wrote in a joint statement with Nadler after the attack.
Earlier this week, Goldman took part in a rally on the National Mall in Washington, DC, demanding the release of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza and calling for an end to antisemitism.
The New York Democrat has also condemned violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank and has demanded that Israel take steps to protect innocent Palestinians in Gaza as it wages war.