A sign outside the world’s oldest Holocaust library, located in London, was defaced with graffiti this week.
Staff members of The Wiener Holocaust Library told the Jewish News that they discovered the graffiti on Thursday morning on a sign promoting the venue’s exhibition and reading room.
Staff say that the graffiti was not there when they left on Wednesday, so it must have occurred overnight.
“This graffiti was obviously intended to cause damage and distress,” Dr. Toby Simpson, the library’s director, told Jewish News. “To use ignorance as a weapon against an institution of learning is stupid and wrong. To lash out against Israel by targeting a Holocaust institution is an action that can only make sense to antisemites and their enablers.”
“We will be replacing our sign at the next opportunity, but regrettably will have to review the likelihood something similar happening again,” Dr. Simpson added. “The proliferation of antisemitic hate in the current climate should be a matter of grave concern to us all.”
Surveillance cameras in the area reportedly don’t cover where the vandalism occurred, but police are said to be investigating.
Library staff noted that the word “Gaza” appeared smudged when they first saw it and believe that someone else may have attempted to clean up or remove the vandalism before staff saw it.
London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan announced on Friday that he had visited The Wiener Holocaust Library, which he called “the target of an unacceptable hate crime.” London’s mayor added that “support for a cause should never tip into abuse,” and that “now more than ever, we must all reach for unity and understanding.”
Political columnist and author Daniel Finkelstein, who is the grandson of The Wiener Holocaust Library’s namesake, Alfred Wiener, says the library has made the decision to add the vandalized sign to their collection of antisemitic material.
“It will be catalogued and preserved,” Finkelstein said on social media.
On October 7, Hamas terrorists launched a surprise attack on Israel, which resulted in thousands of Jewish people being killed, injured, raped, and kidnapped. Israel has been launching retaliatory strikes against Gaza, which have resulted in the deaths of thousands of Palestinians.
Since the Israel-Hamas conflict began, many Jewish sites have been suffering threats and vandalism. Cornell University’s kosher dining hall was locked down last weekend following a series of online antisemitic threats directed at students and staff there.
A beloved 92-year-old Jewish deli in Los Angeles was recently defaced by antisemitic graffiti. Vandals erased Israel from a popular online map app and replaced it with messages including “Free Palestine.” Photos of kidnapped Israeli children were defaced with Hitler mustaches in London.
All of these events come as Israel continues to fight Hamas.