Trump swastika graffiti found in Philadelphia
Graffiti with Nazi imagery and the word “Trump” was discovered on a South Philadelphia storefront on Wednesday, Philly.com has reported.
One image showed “Sieg Heil 2016,” a reference to the Nazi greeting. Another showed “Trump” with the T replaced by a swastika. There were reports of similar images and other racist graffiti in the area.
Mayor Jim Kenney said, “The acts of political and racial vandalism that occurred this morning in South Philadelphia must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.”
The Anti-Defamation League denounced “hate graffiti” in a statement from Nancy Baron-Baer, the organization’s local regional director. “Swastikas and the Nazi salute send a message of intolerance and hate to the entire community,” she said. “That today is the 78th anniversary of Kristallnacht adds another layer to this already sickening act.”
Kristallnacht, or the “Night of Broken Glass,” was a 1938 pogrom against Austrian and German Jews that many historians view as the opening shot in the Nazi-led campaign of violence against the Jews.
One Philadelphia resident, who wished to remain anonymous for this interview, posted an article about the graffiti on his Facebook page alongside a note about the Kristallnacht anniversary and swiftly received an antisemitic response. He told The Jerusalem Post that an old college acquaintance sent a private message on the social media site hoping for a second Holocaust.
“The one golden things [sic] about Trump’s win is that sooner or later the filthy hold Israel and its cronies have on this country will weaken,” the message said. “God I hope for a second Holocaust. You people never learn, of course, but it’ll be fun to watch it happen to trash like you before they come for me too!”
Antisemitic discourse, particularly on social media, grew increasingly vitriolic over the course of the US presidential election campaign. A separate incident was reported by the Wellsville Daily Reporter on Wednesday about Nazi graffiti in a softball dugout in Wellsville, New York. The wall was defaced with a swastika alongside the words “Make America White Again.”