Anti-Semitism Swastikas painted on iconic Bondi Beach murals in Australia Henry Benjamin
SYDNEY (JTA) — The Jewish Agency for Israel head Isaac Herzog called the painting of swastikas on the world-famous murals decorating the promenade of Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach a “hateful attack” that “does not conform with Australian values of openness and inclusion.” The dozen swastikas were discovered on Sunday, Feb.10. Municipal staff worked through the day to remove the swastikas, but some of the artwork will have to be repainted. Early walkers and joggers alerted authorities to the vandalism, which had been committed overnight. Surveillance cameras are in use at the beach, but are primarily used to monitor those who decided to have a nighttime swim. New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies President Lesli Berger
condemned the vandalism. “To say that the Jewish community is appalled at this expression of wanton racism is a severe understatement. The swastika represents the ultimate in race hatred and all Australians of goodwill will stand together in condemning this shocking display.” Local Mayor John Wakefield told JTA: “Five murals were defaced. Council have removed all symbols from the murals and at least one has to be completely redone.” “We understand the extreme distress, anguish, fear and disgust that the swastika can elicit, especially within Australia’s multicultural community and amongst all fair-minded people,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald. “Racism has no place in our culturally diverse community and we condemn last night’s incident in the strongest terms.”
‘Juden!’ spray-painted in yellow on window of Paris bagel shop Marcy Oster
The word “Juden!” was spray-painted in yellow across the window of a bagel shop in Paris. The vandalism was discovered on Saturday, Feb. 9 on a Bagelstein shop in the 4th Distric of Paris. Many Parisians took to Twitter to express their horror. French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner tweeted, “An anti-Semitic tag in the middle of Paris. One too many. ‘Juden’ in yellow letters, as if the most tragic lessons of history no longer enlighten our consciences. Our answer: To do everything to condemn the author of this ignominy. Our honor: Do not let him get away with it.” Gover nment s p ok e s m a n Benjamin Griveaux called the graffiti “dirty anti-Semitism in the streets of the city of light.”
Fourth District Mayor Ariel Weil, who is Jewish, tried to treat the incident with humor, tweeting: “Not offended by some nostalgia of the Reich and Vichy. We enjoy humor, bagels, and view. And you?” The managers of the restaurant filed a police report, according to LeParisian. Police came immediately to the restaurant in the center of the capital, according to the report. Some tried to link the incident to Yellow Vest protesters, who were blamed with setting fire on Saturday, Feb. 9 to the home of the president of the French National Assembly, and vandalism in front of the National Assembly building. The Yellow Vests began in the fall as a series of protests against a hike on fuel prices but has been mired since in countless instances of violence against police and a substantial amount of anti-Semitic hate speech. (JTA)
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