Boston, MA – Jewish groups around Greater Boston are voicing concern after a video shared on social media over the weekend appeared to show a group of young men leaning against and kicking the New England Holocaust Memorial.
The incident reportedly happened on Friday night, according to watchdog organization StopAntisemitism, which shared the clip on Twitter. The organization claimed that the young men shown in the video also made antisemitic threats against an onlooker when they noticed they were being filmed, though the brief clip does not include the alleged confrontation.
Located downtown off of Union Street, the memorial features six glass towers etched with millions of numbers to represent those tattooed on the arms of concentration camp prisoners.
“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,” Peggy Shukur, interim regional director for the Anti-Defamation League New England, told Boston.com in a statement.
Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP) and the Jewish Community Relations Council shared a similar sentiment in a joint statement on Twitter.
The Boston Police Department provided Boston.com with a copy of its report, which noted no visible damage to the memorial and indicated that the incident is a suspected hate crime.
