State senator receives antisemitic hate mail

Originally published in News 12 Long Island

Nassau police are looking into an incident involving antisemitic hate mail being sent to state Sen. Anna Kaplan.

The hate message was written on a piece of literature distributed by the senator to Nassau residents providing information about the COVID-19 vaccine.

"This country is not the same anymore," says Kaplan. "Talking about this because this is just too important not too."

The handwritten message questions the safety of the vaccines. It also included a misogynistic slur and the phrase '109 soon 110,' which is recognized by the Anti-Defamation League as white supremacist shorthand for the antisemitic claim that Jews have been expelled from 109 countries and that the U.S. would be the next and 110th place to expel Jews.

"I never imagined that I would experience that here," says Kaplan.

This is the latest antisemitic incident in the county. Earlier this month, News 12 reported about the arrest of a Roslyn Harbor man who was allegedly caught on camera shouting curses and antisemitic slurs at his neighbor.

Sen. Kaplan says everyone deserves to live in a community free from hatred and bias.

"I think it's my responsibility to stand up here and make sure everyone hears me and is aware of what's happening," says Kaplan.

Kaplan encourages anyone who has experienced a hate crime to call police.