Swastikas were found this week near the Town of Hempstead's 9/11 memorial in Point Lookout and at Rath Park in Franklin Square, officials said Wednesday.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly, Hempstead Town Clerk Kate Murray and Nassau Legis. John Ferretti Jr. (R-Levittown) gathered at the 9/11 memorial Wednesday morning to denounce the graffiti — the latest reported antisemitic acts in the town in recent months.

“This vile act of hatred has absolutely no place in our community,” Ferretti said. “Especially at a site dedicated to the memory of innocent lives lost in our nation’s darkest times.”

Officials said that a swastika and offensive language was discovered Monday night at Rath Park on the wall of a Little League dugout.

Then late Tuesday night, officials said two swastikas were found on the wall of a bathroom stall at the Point Lookout memorial. They were painted over shortly after the officials finished their remarks.

Antisemitic incidents have been on the rise across the nation, according to the Anti-Defamation League. In a report issued in April, the organization said New York had the highest number of reported antisemitic incidents in the country in 2024.

In October, a Queens man made antisemitic remarks and almost hit a father and his children outside a synagogue in Cedarhurst, prosecutors have said. He was sentenced in January to 60 days in jail on a misdemeanor charge of aggravated harassment.

And in April, swastikas were found drawn on a Rath Park building and on a children's toy in Coes Neck Park in Baldwin, both in the Town of Hempstead. 

Brian Devine, communications director for the Town of Hempstead, noted Wednesday that the town is home to a large Jewish population. He said the town last year created a task force to help educate the public about antisemitism.

Donnelly said the investigation into this week's incidents is ongoing.