A statue of Anne Frankthe young Jewish girl who, along with other Jewish people, hid in a secret annex in Amsterdam for almost two years during the Holocaust before being captured, was defaced with ‘Gaza’ graffiti, which immediately sparked outrage.
The Center for Information and Documentation Israel posted a photo on Tuesday on X showing the word “Gaza” spray-painted in red letters at the bottom of the statue on Merwedeplein, a housing complex in Amsterdam where Anne Frank and her family lived before the Nazis forced them into hiding in 1942.
“It is truly scandalous that someone would come up with the idea of drawing attention to the Palestinian cause by defacing an image of Anne Frank, an international symbol of the Holocaust,” said Stijn Nijssen, Amsterdam councillor. wrote in a translated post on X.
The American Jewish Committee called it a “despicable act of anti-Semitism.”
“What does a young girl brutally murdered by the Nazis have to do with the Palestinian cause? Absolutely nothing,” the organization said. wrote“This is a despicable act of hate, not activism.”
The European Jewish Congress condemned it as an act of “anti-Semitism.”
“Such acts are a sign of disrespect for her memory and the 6 million Jews murdered during the Holocaust,” the statement said. said on X“We hope that the perpetrators will be brought to justice soon.”
The Anne Frank Trust UK said it was “deeply saddened” by the vandalism.
“The vandal may have wanted to draw attention to the suffering in Gaza, but by targeting an innocent victim of the Holocaust, their message became one of vicious anti-Semitism,” the organization wrote in a rack on X, adding: “At a time when anti-Jewish hatred is at an all-time high in many parts of the world, this appalling crime makes it clear that education about combating prejudice is more important than ever.”
The statue was unveiled in July 2005, according to the Anne Frank Foundationin honor of the famous diarist who died at the age of 15 in the Bergen Belsen camp.
The statue shows Anne Frank with a schoolbag under one arm and a bag under the other, as she looks in the direction of her house, the foundation said.
Amsterdam police said they were notified of the vandalism on Tuesday afternoon and immediately launched an investigation. No arrests had been made by Thursday morning.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
