By M. C. Millman

A swastika was found marked on a boulder right off the trail in Kakiat County Park in Montebello by a resident out hiking this morning. 

The shocking discovery was made at around 9 a.m by Dovy L., who noticed the white spraypainted hate symbol emblazoned on the side of a large rock near a stream while hiking the Old Mill Mountain Trail. 

"I don't think it was more than a week old," Dovy, a frequent Kakiat hiker shares with Rockland Daily. "There was other graffiti there as well, and there didn't seem to be more than usual. I don't appreciate it when people destroy the natural beauty of a place in general. It's not necessary to have graffiti plastered all over, but this symbol of hate was really upsetting."

"On Tuesday, my office was alerted to anti-Semitic graffiti found in Kakiat Park along the Mahwah River," County Executive Ed Day shared after  Rockland Daily informed him of the incident. "The Rockland County Sheriff's Office and Division of Environmental Resources were immediately notified and took swift action to investigate and cover up the symbol because lack of visibility does not diminish the hate behind the message.

"I am disgusted and angered by this abhorrent vandalism once again surfacing in our beautiful County. Words matter and hateful language such as this is an insult to the people of Rockland. My administration vows to work with law enforcement to find and hold the criminals behind this responsible."

In addition to the disturbing graffiti, Dovy also commented on the number of wrappers littering the trails.

"It's sad," Dovy says. "It's such a nice park, and it's unfortunate when wrappers litter the ground. I've been to other places where people seem to be more respectful about not littering. There's still no justification for a swastika!"