AMSTERDAM (TND) — A statue of Holocaust victim Anne Frank in Amsterdam was vandalized Thursday by a pro-Palestinian protester.
Frank, a Jewish girl, is remembered for her diary in which she documented life while hiding from Nazi persecution and execution during World War II. She is celebrated for her contribution to Jewish records of the war.
The graffiti reads “Gaza” across the base of the statue in red paint. It refers to the region of the Middle East where Israel and Hamas terrorists are fighting an ongoing war.
The word is a common rallying cry for pro-Palestinian demonstrators. An image of the vandalism posted to X earned over 2 million views.
Reacting to the scene was the Holocaust Education Fund.
“Scrawling 'Gaza' on a statue of Anne Frank - a Jewish teenager murdered by the Nazis - is not activism, it is antisemitism,” the Holocaust Education Fundwrote via X.
“The vandal may have meant to draw attention to suffering in Gaza, but by targeting an innocent victim of the Holocaust, their message became one of vicious antisemitism,” the Anne Frank Trust wrote in a statement. “With anti-Jewish hatred reaching unprecedented levels in many parts of the world, this distressing crime makes clear that anti-prejudice education is more vital than ever.”
Amsterdam police are investigating the crime, a spokesperson told CNN.
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