Police investigate men seen kicking, leaning on Holocaust memorial
Boston police are investigating a disturbance Friday night at the New England Holocaust Memorial, where young men were captured on film leaning against and kicking the site.
A facilities manager told investigators the incident happened around 9:30 p.m., police said.
“He observed on camera individuals jumping over the bushes in the memorial,” a police report said. “An individual wearing [a] black hoodie and glasses can be seen [kicking] the memorial twice.”
The memorial was not damaged.
Combined Jewish Philanthropies, a Boston-based group that manages and maintains the memorial, condemned the actions.
“We will not stand for any acts of antisemitism in our community, especially not the desecration of memories of the victims of the Holocaust,” the group said in a statement. “We ask any member of the community who witnessed the event or may have information from that night to please come forward and contact” the police, the group added.
The New York-based group Stop Antisemitism posted a 12second video of the incident.
“An onlooker films in horror as a group of young men kick the New England Holocaust Memorial (98 Union St). last night,” the group posted on Twitter. “The group noticed the man filming and ran up to him, making antisemitic threats of violence @bostonpolice.”
In the clip, one young man appears to lean his back against the memorial and another young man appears to kick the base of it.
No arrests have been made. The case is under investigation, police said.
Peggy Shukur, interim executive director of the Anti-Defamation League’s New England chapter, said that at a time of heightened antisemitism, “any disruptive activity at this site is of concern to the Boston Jewish community, and should concern the entire New England community.”
“The New England Holocaust Memorial is a sacred site in Boston, a way we bear witness to the memories of those who suffered or died at the hands of the Nazis,” Shukur said in a statement. “Acts of desecration have occurred in the past at this Memorial, a grim reminder that the lessons of the Holocaust need to be continually reinforced.”
City Council President Ed Flynn said the perpetrators “flagrantly” disrespected the memory of Holocaust victims.
“Any act to damage or desecrate this memorial is unacceptable,” Flynn said. “In recent years, we have seen a disturbing rise in hate crimes, antisemitism, neo-Nazism, and white nationalism in our city and country. It is critical that we categorically reject and denounce any attempts to normalize antisemitism or any form of hate.”