The person or people who vandalized a Kingston synagogue with an anti-Israel poster could face felony charges under New York’s hate crime statute. The vandalism at Congregation Emanuel on Albany Avenue comes as police across the county are beefing up security at Jewish houses of worship and other sites ahead of Passover — and a spike in antisemitic incidents amid the ongoing Israeli invasion of Gaza.

Police say the incident occurred sometime late Sunday night or in the early hours of Monday — hours after the congregation celebrated the Jewish holiday Purim — when an unknown person used an adhesive substance to place a poster reading “F--k Israel” on wall of the synagogue at 243 Albany Avenue.

The incident was reported to Ulster County Sheriff’s Lt. Detective and congregation member Abram Markiewicz by synagogue employees early Monday morning. On Thursday, Markiewicz said that the incident met the criteria for a hate crime under New York law, elevating a potential criminal mischief charge from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E felony.

Markiewicz added that the vandalism did not appear to be the work of Neo-Nazi or other antisemitic hate groups.

“This was an anti-Israel message, not an all-Jews kind of message,” said Markiewicz. “That suggests to me that it was more politically motivated and attached to the current situation in the Middle East.”

Markiewicz said that police were in the process of reviewing video evidence and interviewing neighbors who might have seen something.

“This is an open and active investigation and we are going to work any leads we get,” said Markiewicz. “We do take this seriously and we’re going to do what we can to find out who did it.”