Hackers blast Jewish school website with Nazi imagery

The North Shore Hebrew Academy High School's homepage was plastered with a Swastika and clip of marching Nazi SS guards. Video of the footage was posted on Twitter.

The non-profit foundation StopAntisemitism.org, shared the video on Twitter and said that the personal information of students and teachers at the Great Neck school were also leaked in the hack.

According to their Tweets: "Nazi songs, imagery, messages continue to be posted. They have also leaked student's and teacher's addresses and credit card information."

Nazi imagery was also posted on the About Us page, which was re-written to read "The k–e race."

Another page was altered to read "North Shore Hebrew Death Camp."

A picture of Adolf Hitler was posted on the school's website that called the school the "North Shore Concentration Camp."

One section of the website was hacked to include details of a "field trip" to Auschwitz, that listed the application deadline as "January 1945" and said students would have to "…walk into an SS office and declare themselves as Jews."

Headmaster Daniel Vitow told The New York Post that "We are aware of the situation and are actively working with law enforcement." According to the Post, Nassau County Police confirmed they are investigating the incident but didn’t immediately have additional information.

Monday before the attack, the FBI had sent out warnings to Jewish institutions across the country that "Perpetrators of hate crimes were likely to zoom-bomb Jewish Hanukkah Services due to US social gathering restrictions related to COVID-19" in order to threaten and intimidate Jewish congregants. Many US synagogues and schools have been forced to close, and have moved their Hannukah celebrations scheduled for this week online.

The FBI also cited previous examples this year that had succeeded throughout the year including, on July 25, the Beth El synagogue in Omaha, Nebraska held services via Zoom when several unidentified participants posted anti-Semitic and threatening comments, such as "kill the fucking jews."

These individuals also targeted members of the synagogue by name; for example, "Michael I’m going to kill your f***ing family," and posted this individual's address in the Zoom chat, according to a contact with direct access reporting.

On June 20, the Congregation B'nai Israel in Albuquerque, New Mexico, held a religious service via Zoom when unknown subjects disrupted the service and posted numerous text chats, images, and video clips featuring anti-Semitic and Nazi imagery with content including "gas the jews" and "Heil Hitler." The congregation members felt intimidated and leaders terminated the religious service early, according to a contact with direct access reporting for the first time.

On April 7, the Beth El synagogue in Saint Louis Park, Minnesota, hosted an online minyan religious ceremony on Zoom, when approximately eight unknown subjects entered the call and displayed swastikas to the other call participants, according to a contact with direct access reporting for the first times.

Liora Rez, the director of StopAntisemitism.org, told the New York Post that the organization was alerted about the breach shortly after 4 p.m. and that it lasted a few hours. "We are horrified that hackers have targeted a Jewish school and exposed children to horrific Nazi imagery and messages," Rez said.

The cyberattack prompted State Sen. Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Beach) to ask the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services to allow institutions to use funds obtained through the Securing Communities Against Crimes Grants Program to beef up cybersecurity.

The grant program is designed to provide money to boost safety at nonprofit museums, day care centers, community centers and camps at risk of hate crimes because of religion, ideology or mission, has been used in the past for security camera systems, gates and doors.

Stopantisemitism.org is accusing #OPIsrael, a group with Palestinian roots and agenda, for being the group responsible for the hack citing a 2014 piece in YNetNews.

The FBI has joined an investigation into Monday's cyberattack on the school according to Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder. Ryder asked anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 800-244-TIPS. All calls will remain confidential.