Confederate Flag Tied to Door of Museum of Jewish Heritage
By Morgan Chittum and Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News
JAN 08, 2021 AT 3:52 PM
Image: A boxcar used for the deportation of jews to Auschwitz rests outside of the new exhibition at the Museum of Jewish Heritage entitled "Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away." on on May 2, 2019 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
A Confederate flag was found tied to the door of the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Manhattan on Friday, the Daily News has learned.
The flag — a Civil War emblem of the South that has more recently been adopted by white nationalists and other extremist groups — was attached to an entrance to the museum, which has a vintage train car in front of it that was once used to transport men, women, and children to Auschwitz and other Nazi death camps.
The flag was placed there sometime overnight and discovered in the morning, museum officials said.
“We have filed a police report and are working with authorities to identify the individual or individuals responsible for this crime. This is an atrocious attack on our community and on our institution and must be met with the swift and forceful response by law enforcement,” said Jack Kliger, president and CEO of the Museum of Jewish Heritage — a Living Memorial to the Holocaust.
The timing of the event was noteworthy, Kliger added, because it occurred just two days after pro-Trump rioters rampaged through the U.S. Capitol building in a violent attempt to stop the electoral certification of Joe Biden’s presidential win.
Some of the MAGA marauders carried Confederate flags and one unidentified man wore a t-shirt that said “Camp Auschwitz” on it, the name of one of the Nazi’s deadliest concentration camps during World War II.
“The Confederate flag is a potent symbol of white supremacy, as evidenced by the events at the U.S. Capitol this week. Such hate has now arrived at our doorstep, just steps away from a train car which once transported Jews to the Auschwitz death camp. These horrific acts of emboldened anti-Semitism must end now,” said Kliger.
Mayor de Blasio and other elected officials took to Twitter to condemn the incident and said those responsible must be prosecuted.
“The Confederate flag is a symbol of hate. This week it was paraded through the Capitol and this morning it was used to vandalize the Museum of Jewish Heritage in our city,” the mayor’s tweet reads.
“We have ZERO tolerance for acts of fascism and bigotry. There will be consequences for those responsible.”
The Confederate flag is a symbol of hate. This week it was paraded through the Capitol and this morning it was used to vandalize the Museum of Jewish Heritage in our city.
We have ZERO tolerance for acts of fascism and bigotry. There will be consequences for those responsible.” https://t.co/qPShVudGAi
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) January 8, 2021
New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer, whose wife Elyse Buxbaum works at the Battery Park museum, said, “White supremacy is poisonous. We saw it in the nation’s capital this week and we’re seeing it in our city today.”
“This is an attack on our community. Those responsible must be brought to justice.”
“White supremacy is poisonous. We saw it in the nation’s capital this week and we’re seeing it in our city today.
“My wife @elysebuxbaum works at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. This is an attack on our community.
“Those responsible must be brought to justice.“ https://t.co/XGUnZ9tEjG
— Scott M. Stringer (@NYCComptroller) January 8, 2021
The train car near where the flag was hung is more than 80 years old and was brought to New York City in 2017 and placed outside the museum in lower Manhattan.
The Museum of Jewish Heritage, dedicated to educating diverse visitors about Jewish life before, during, and after the Holocaust, maintains a collection of almost 40,000 artifacts, photographs, documentary films, and survivor testimonies. It is also home to the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene.
Museum spokesman Jeff Simmons referred all questions about the incident to the NYPD.
Read at the New York Daily News