Reposted from the Daily News, by David J. Benger, Feb. 26, 2019 A swastika was found on my childhood playground in Brighton Beach yesterday. It was drawn onto the very same jungle gym on which I used to play with my sister while my parents and grandparents watched over us to ensure our safety. A culprit is yet to be identified, but this is not an isolated incident. Attacks on Jewish bodies have been escalating in frequency and ferocity in New York and elsewhere over the last few years. Councilman Chaim Deutsch posted pictures to Twitter of swastikas found at a play area at Brighton 2nd St. and Brightwater Court. in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn in February 2019. (Councilman Chaim Deutsch) It is clear that the time has come for New York City to adopt an official definition of anti-Semitism. The definition is necessary, because though swastikas drawn on a playground are clearly anti-Semitic, the rhetoric that emboldens their drawing is equally dangerous, but frequently unrecognized. Statistics provided by the FBI and the Anti-Defamation League show that incidents of crimes against Jews have risen dramatically. But the growing anti-Semitic rhetoric that leads to such crimes has remained unaddressed. A definition will help to bridge that gap. A definition will help our elected officials and law enforcement officers distinguish between legitimate criticism of Israel, for example, and anti-Semitic rhetoric. It will remind New Yorkers that lies about Jewish control of our nation’s institutions are not merely distasteful, but they are, in fact, hate speech. For Mayor de Blasio’s consideration, I offer the definition put forward by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. This definition, already in use by the State Department, lays out numerous concrete anti-Semitic activities, such as drawing swastikas, denying the Holocaust, and delegitimizing Israel’s existence. Optimists say the situation for Jews, especially in New York, is not so dire. But that is a dangerous complacency that history has taught the Jewish people (and many other minorities) they cannot afford. Yes, it is true the perpetrators drew the symbol in my childhood playground quietly in the night rather than openly and brazenly. And yes, the swastika is rather small, drawn on a metal post in marker. But those of us guided by history’s lessons know that soon if not effectively checked, the swastikas will grow bigger. Soon, they will be singed into the rubber safety mats of the playground. Soon they will be spray-painted onto the glass vitrines of Jewish-owned businesses, of which there are so so many in my immigrant enclave of Brooklyn. Jewish safety in America is facing dangerous ideologies from both sides of the political spectrum, and Jewish New Yorkers do not know where to turn. Both political parties offer solace and anxiety simultaneously. On the left, radical anti-Semitic movements denying the Jewish people a right to a homeland have metastasized with alarming speed. Indeed, Congress now contains more than one legislator who has openly subscribed to ancient anti-Semitic canards. On the other hand, The Democratic Party, buoyed by ideals of safeguarding society’s most disadvantaged, and heralded as the opposite of Trump’s skullduggery and habitual (possibly criminal) patterns of deceit, appeals to the values of many Jewish New Yorkers. On the right, President Trump’s vulgar and brutal words have emboldened the KKK and other racist and supremacist sympathizers to proselytize and build strength and support. However, The Republican Trump administration opened a U.S. embassy in Jerusalem and has expressed unyielding support for the Jewish state, which has pleased some American Jews. Irrespective of ideology or political party affiliation, there is growing concern these days about the disappearance of safe spaces for Jewish spirit, Jewish minds, and even Jewish bodies. Read more at the Daily News. David Jonathan Benger is a Schwarzman Scholar, and JD Candidate at Harvard Law School, where he is the Chapter President of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights under the Law.