_______________ east meadow ______________
HERALD A tree planting for Arbor Day
Play ball! A new season underway
‘Spring Fling’ is for the athletes
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Vol. 24 No. 17
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APRIl 18 - 24, 2024
Arrest made in antisemitic graffiti incident By JoRDAN VAlloNE jvallone@liherald.com
Jordan Vallone/Herald
Antisemitic graffiti was discovered in East Meadow on Monday, sparking outrage from elected officials and the community. Above, Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin called an emergency news conference to address the findings.
The East Meadow community awoke on Monday to an act of antisemitism. Antisemitic graffiti was found spray-painted on a long stretch of fencing on Merrick Avenue, a few blocks south of Front Street, including statements like “Zionism is Nazism,” “Stop the Genocide” and “Free Palestine.” The heavily trafficked road connects Bellmore and Merrick to East Meadow, and the graffiti was found just a mile from the East Meadow Beth-El Jewish Center. Neighborhoods nearby have a large number of Jewish residents. As Israel’s war on Hamas continues in the Middle East, antisemitism remains on the rise in the United States, and Monday’s incident sparked outrage from the local community and elected officials. Debbie Habshoosh, whose yard backs up to Merrick Avenue, began displaying flyers on her fence ConTinuED on pAgE 10
Yarn and blanket drive benefits children with cancer By JoRDAN VAlloNE jvallone@liherald.com
In an effort to give back to children undergoing chemotherapy treatments, State Sen. Steve Rhoads’ office has enlisted the help of community members in his district to give back to others through a Yarn & Blanket drive, where all donations will be given to We Care Blankets. We Care Blankets is a nonprofit organization founded in 1999 on Long Island. Initially funded by a medical physician, the goal of the organization was to provide children with cancer something warm and
comforting. During intense treatment for many cancers, a side affect is often chills. The founders of We Care Blankets sprang into action, and made colorful blankets, that serve as a gift to kids in hospitals. Tammy Baker, the founder of We Care Blankets, who resides in Massapequa, said that while the organization has always donated blankets to local hospitals, it never had a permanent “home” to concentrate its efforts. About six years a g o, t h e M e r r i ck L i b r a r y offered We Care Blankets a room, which has helped the nonprofit. “We had no room, and we
never wrapped the blankets,” she explained. “We used to deliver them in big black trash bags.” Now, We Care Blankets hosts “wrap nights,” usually about every other month at the library. It invites community members from all over to participate, as well as other volunteer org anizations. In the library’s community room, volunteers will curate donation bags, each containing ten blankets. When all of the blankets are wrapped, they are brought out to volunteer’s cars, who will deliver them to hospitals. In January, Rhoads stopped by a wrap night, and was
impressed by the efforts of the organization. Looking for a way to help, his office organiz ed a month-long drive. Through May 10, residents in his district can drop off yarn and blankets to 12 locations including the North Bellmore Public Library; the Merrick Library; the North Merrick Public Library; the East Mead-
ow Public Library; the Farmingdale Public Library; the Bethpage Public Library; the P l a i nv i e w - O l d B e t h p a g e Library; the Island Trees Public Library; the Levittown Public Library; Needlepaint Nook in Merrick; JOANN Fabric & C r a f t s i n We s t b u r y ; a n d Rhoads’ District Office on MerConTinuED on pAgE 4