Anne Frank statue in Amsterdam desecrated by pro-Palestine vandals
Outrage as 'Gaza' scrawled in red paint defaces historic monument to young diarist murdered in the Holocaust
An Amsterdam memorial statue of Anne Frank has been defaced with the word ‘Gaza’ in red paint.
The young diarist lived in Merwedeplein Square, the site of the monument, from 1933 until she and her family went into hiding from the Nazis in 1942. They were discovered by police officers on 4 August 1944 and sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp.
Anne Frank died in March 1945 at Bergen-Belsen. She would have been 95 years old on 12th June 2024.
Mayor of Amsterdam Femke Halsema took to social media to appeal for anyone with information to speak to police. She wrote: “How can you get it in your head to make her memory so violent? Whoever it was, shame on you! There is no excuse for this. No Palestinian has been helped by smearing her precious statue.”
The Holocaust Educational Trust wrote on Instagram: “Scrawling ‘Gaza’ on a statue of Anne Frank – a Jewish teenager murdered by the Nazis – is not activism, it is antisemitism.”
The European Jewish Congress wrote: “Defacing a statue of Anne Frank—a Jewish teenager murdered by the Nazis—by scrawling “GAZA” on it is not activism, but antisemitism. Such acts disrespect her memory and the 6 million Jews murdered during the Holocaust. We hope the perpetrators are brought to justice swiftly.”
Independent Dutch foundation CIDI says that a report has been filed with the police.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
