Takoma Park mayor says swastika vandalism is 'deeply disturbing'
Takoma Park Mayor Kate Stewart said that Takoma Park "strongly denounces [antisemitism], Holocaust denial, and distortions about Judaism."
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFSwastika found painted on the hood of BMW in Bristol, England on Yom Kippur.(photo credit: WORLD ZIONIST ORGANIZATION)
Takoma Park Mayor Kate Stewart condemned the recent vandalism of a car in the city in which a swastika was spray painted on the back of a vehicle, calling the incident "deeply disturbing" in a statement released on Thursday.The vandalism had occurred the previous Friday when Takoma Park Police were called to a vehicle which had a swastika spray painted on the back of it, as mentioned. The investigation is looking into the incident as a hate crime, according to a report by Source of the Spring, a local news agency.Stewart said in her statement that the local police is still investigating the incident and that it was passed on to the county's hate crimes unit."We know that there has been a recent rise in deadly attacks and historical violence toward Jewish people, and to have this happen in our own community is deeply disturbing," Stewart said. "As a City, we strongly denounce [antisemitism], Holocaust denial, and distortions about Judaism and Jewish life and culture."In the same statement, she condemned an incident that had occurred around the same time in which a woman defaced two murals in an allegedly racist act by scratching out the face of a Black woman featured in the work."The city is working with the Old Town Business Association (OTBA), who commissioned the art, to ensure repairs are made," the mayor said. "The defacement of this art starkly illustrates the need to continue to fight anti-Black racism."Mayor Stewart came under fire last year when she permitted an anti-Israel film narrated by BDS advocate and former Pink Floyd rockstar Roger Waters to be aired in the city, along with a follow-up by Jewish Voice for Peace and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
