[ad_1]
Three tunnels near an Anne Frank memorial in Idaho were vandalized with anti-Semitic graffiti during Hanukkah, police and city officials said.
The vile graffiti, discovered in three tunnels near the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial in downtown Boise, was “cleaned and covered up” by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department early Saturday, police said in a statement.
“We recognize the significance of this being the last Saturday of Hanukkah and we are reaching out to Jewish leaders in our community to let them know we will not stand for such hateful and abhorrent behavior in our city,” Police Chief Ryan Lee said.
City officials learned of the vandalism, including at least 12 instances of graffiti, early Saturday, the Idaho Statesman reported.
“Absolutely abhorrent conduct, and we’re not going to sit idly by and let that be,” Lee told the newspaper. “If that meant that we had to get brushes and paint over it ourselves, we were going to do it.”
The graffiti contained swastikas, other anti-Semitic messages and threats targeting minorities, KIVI reported.
An investigation is underway, but there’s no apparent threat to Boise’s Jewish residents or a need for them to take “enhanced security” measures, Lee told the Idaho Statesman.
The graffiti comes after a swastika was found painted on Boise’s Idaho Building last month. Stickers with Nazi imagery were also discovered on the Anne Frank memorial in December 2020. It’s unclear if the vandalism discovered Saturday was connected to those previous incidents, Lee said.
“We recognize that for a lot of members of our community, even members that aren’t of the Jewish faith, this does not make them feel safe,” the chief told the newspaper. “It does not fit with the welcoming, kind image that Boise is.”
Whoever is responsible for the graffiti was acting out of “hateful ignorance,” Lee said.
“I wish we could rise to our better selves,” he continued. “Unfortunately, not everybody does.”
A message seeking comment from Boise police was not immediately returned Monday.
Boise’s mayor, meanwhile, said the anti-Semitic messages put a “literal and figurative stain” on the city.
“This will not be tolerated,” Mayor Lauren McLean said in a statement. “Hate speech is reprehensible. It is not who we are as a city and is not part of our shared values. I invite all good people of Boise to stand with me, as I stand with our Jewish neighbors, to rebuke this hate.”
Anyone with information about the vandalism should call Boise police at (208) 377-6790 or CrimeStoppers at (208) 343-2677, department officials said.
[ad_2]