Police in the United Kingdom are investigating “racially aggravated criminal damage” after posters promoting the Newham Council’s Holocaust Memorial Day were defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti this weekend.
The words “Liars” and “Killers” were graffitied onto the posters advertising the January 27 event.
The Mayor of Newham, Sir Robin Wales, called the vandalism a “despicable and cowardly hate crime” and “an assault on the values of decency and mutual respect which the vast majority of us share.”
“This outrage underlines not only the importance of keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive but of standing up to intolerance and hatred at every opportunity,” he stressed.
Olivia Marks-Woldman, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, said of the act: “We’re appalled by this anti-Semitic graffiti attack on a poster for the Newham Holocaust Memorial Day event.
“We welcome and echo the Mayor of Newham’s strong condemnation. The fact that Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism are still issues in contemporary Britain demonstrate how relevant and necessary commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day continues to be.
“We hope as many people as possible will demonstrate their contempt for attacks like these by commemorating the day on January 27.”
Police have asked witnesses to come forward and are checking CCTV footage for possible suspects.
A recent poll of 2,230 British Jewish people by the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism (CAA) found that 45 percent feared Jews may have no future in Britain, and 58 percent were concerned they have no long-term future in Europe.