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Anne Frank memorial vandalized with swastikas

A day after the anti-Semitic vandalism, community members decorated the Anne Frank statue with flowers and notes against hate and anti-Semitism, in an outpouring of support.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

The sole Anne Frank memorial in the United States was vandalized with swastikas and threatening flyers on Tuesday, according to media reports.

Located in Boise, Idaho, the memorial contains a life-size bronze statue of Frank holding her diary. Swastika stickers and flyers with the hate symbol and the words “we are everywhere” were placed on Frank’s diary and various places throughout the memorial.

Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee called the vandalism “absolutely reprehensible” and said his department has launched an investigation.

“It does cause us concern,” Lee told USA Today. “We are committed to ferreting out … those who would foment hate in the community.”

He added that he’d been in touch with the Anti-Defamation League as part of the investigation.

“It’s sad that this is becoming a statement of who and what our community is,” Dan Prinzig, director of the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights, told USA Today. The organization maintains the memorial.

He called the defacement “a stab in the heart” and lamented damage to the “psyche of the community.”

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“I think what we’re seeing, we have to take seriously — such acts aren’t just random,” Prinzing told AP.

“In the sticker, they are proclaiming that they are everywhere. We have to remind people that good people are everywhere, that good exists, and now is the time for good to come together.”

The Wassmuth Center for Human Rights shared images of the vandalism on Facebook, writing, “These stickers were plastered throughout the Memorial yesterday. I fear for what is happening to our community.”

On Wednesday, community members decorated the Anne Frank statue with flowers and notes against hate and anti-Semitism, in an outpouring of support.

“Tonight this is the statue of Anne Frank! Tell me that this is Boise! Hate does not win,” the center wrote, alongside a photo of the decorated statue.

The memorial was previously vandalized in 2017. Anti-Semitic and racially offensive graffiti caused over $20,000 in damages to the memorial.