A homemade sign reading “Fake News” and “MAGA” appeared by the Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio Tuesday morning. A photo of the sign, circulated on social media, shows a white board with black spray-painted words. An arrow points toward the Holocaust museum’s display, seemingly connecting the phrase “fake news” with the Holocaust museum.
This is the second reported incident of vandalism demonstrating intolerance in Bexar County in as many days. The City of Converse removed two spray-painted swastikas on its welcome sign Monday morning.
Museum Director Ellen Ollervidez said she arrived after the sign had been taken down. The police officer who filed the report of the incident told her someone had called the San Antonio Police Department to inform them of the sign’s presence on the museum campus. Ollervidez said the officer did not consider the sign to be anti-Semitic at first sight.
“I believe this specifically speaks to those who wish to deny this history, and therefore it concerns me,” Ollervidez said. “I asked someone who works at the museum who … said she’s not Jewish and not necessarily considering this from a cultural perspective, but as a historian. She believed it did reek of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.”
Many people may not understand why someone would choose to place a “Fake News” sign pointing toward a Holocaust museum, Ollervidez said, but people who have studied the history know that those who deny or discount the Holocaust often use “suggestive language.”
“It seems benign, but under the surface, it’s anything but,” she said.
The Muslim Children Education and Civic Center in a statement Tuesday said it condemns the “insulting, demeaning, and dehumanizing incident.”
“The people of San Antonio will not be cowed by hate or indifferent to bigotry … We will prosecute those who vandalize, menace, harass or discriminate against any of our communities,” State Sen. José Menéndez (D-San Antonio) said in a Wednesday statement. “The Holocaust museum exists so that we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past. I urge everyone to visit the museum, show your support and send the message to anyone who would target the Jewish community or any community of our city that they will not succeed.”
The Holocaust Memorial Museum is housed on the same property as the Barshop Jewish Community Center, on the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Campus of the San Antonio Jewish Community on the city’s North Side. The campus operations team removed the sign early Tuesday morning.
In 2015, the nearby communities of Rodfei Sholom and Oak Meadow were vandalized with anti-Semitic graffiti, just down the road on Northwest Military Highway.
In an email to the Rivard Report, SAPD Public Information Officer Romana Lopez said a report was filed with the department at 7:45 a.m. Tuesday.
“Officers were called to Wurzbach Pkwy. and NW Military Hwy. for Threats on Dec. 18, 2018,” Lopez wrote. “The report is not available and we have not received any preliminary information at this time.”
The day before, City workers in Converse discovered two swastikas spray-painted in black onto the municipality’s welcome sign. Crews quickly removed the graffiti, leaving a faint outline of the swastikas behind.
Public Works Director Mark Velasquez said the department’s “street team” drives around the northeast Bexar County municipality each morning to look for problems such as potholes or signs in need of repair. His team found the graffiti around 7:15 a.m. and called the police right away, he said. After police officers came to write a report, Public Works employees removed the swastikas with a chemical remover.
“Luckily we found it early enough where it hadn’t set in on the sign and damage was minimized,” Velasquez said.
He said whoever vandalized the sign did so either late Sunday night or early Monday morning. Velasquez, who started his job in Converse a little more than 90 days ago, said this was the first vandalism case he’s seen.
He said the content of the graffiti did not heighten the priority of the removal.
“The fact that it was vandalism in general was the reason it was removed,” he said. “Public Works likes to pride itself on upkeep of all right-of-ways and municipal signs.”
Police Lt. Jeff Shook, who runs the Converse Police Department’s criminal investigations unit, said the investigation is still active but the department had no immediate leads.
“As far as information regarding suspects, I can tell you there is not,” he said.
Shook said he has not seen that type of graffiti in Converse previously.
“This is not a regular consistent type of graffiti marking,” he said.
The vandalized sign is near the intersection of Toepperwein Road and Laurel Creek.
The Converse Police Department is asking people who may have any information to call the investigations unit at 210-658-2322, extension 206. Tipsters can remain anonymous.
This article was originally published on Dec. 17, 2018.
FYI Converse is a northeast B.C. municipality, not northwest.
Thanks, the story has been corrected.
I tried to look up the community of Rodfei Sholom, Texas in Google, and discovered that, rather than a “community,” it is (just) a synagogue, or as such are wont to call themselves, a congregation. I don’t THINK the congregants all reside right next to each other, although, being Orthodox, they DO walk to services on the Sabbath, so perforce they all likely live within walking distance of their synagogue. Or maybe they have a compound, like in Waco of yore.
The threat to my geographical knowledge of Texas has been averted.
The original error was not yours, Jackie. The 2015 article on a similar incident made that mistake. You trustingly copied it.
More “Trump Christians” (?!) spreading their seasonal cheer. Deranged cowards.
Many swastikas and such “hate” acts have actually been perpetrated by the left, and even those who wanted everyone to think they were victims 😉 On general, it’s the left that seems to display contempt for Israel.
Talk about fake news. You have GOT to be kidding. Tune in to something besides Fox News, read some history, get a grip.
Google is a wonderful thing. Ever heard of it? I don’t watch mainstream news because of their political bias, but here’s your gold star for playing.
How about Yasmin Seweid who claimed that her hijab was ripped off by MAGA men? She lied to police because she broke her curfew.
The black air force cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy’s preparatory school in Colorado (September 2017) that was one of five “victims” with racial slurs written on their dorm door, and it turned out he was the perpetrator?
Halley Bass (University of MI) pleads guilty to falsely reporting a hate crime.
St. Olaf: Report of racist note on black student’s windshield was ‘fabricated’ (wouldn’t release her name)
BGSUniversity student accused the school of harboring an active KKK group while that “active KKK group” was clearly a piece of lab equipment covered with a white cloth.
How about Brittany Daughenbaugh at CU in ohio claiming that Trump supporters attacked her? She admitted it was a lie. She claimed that they told her Donald Trump told them this was okay.
How about Jalen Mitchell who claimed to have had a hate-filled note taped to his door with racist and homophobic language right after the election (2017 – he admitted it was a lie). 2015, Mitchell reported finding a similar note containing racial slurs and swastikas at his apartment. He admitted he wanted attention. Fall of 2016, Mitchell reported an assault on Astor Avenue. He says he’s sorry for so many false reports
Drake University student claimed to have received 4 racists notes (11/13/2018) the 18-year-old female Drake University student who received them admitted they were fake.
Fynn Ajani Arthur, 21scrawled swastikas, the letters ‘KKK’ and names of specific individuals – including himself- in a Goucher College dorm twice last in November (2018). He has been charged.
In Antioch, CA, a 24 year old black man named Lawrence Phipps sprayed racially charged symbols and words on vehicles, and buildings downtown. Swastikas were among the symbols spray-painted. The graffiti also showed vulgar words, phrases and racial slurs (11/27/2018)
Shall I continue? I have approximately 300 documented examples of false hate crimes perpetrated.
So in 2017 according to the FBI there are almost 15,000 hate crime incidents and related incidents. You have 300 false incidents you claim to have documented. For arguments sake let’s accept that all of your documented issues are indeed false reports. What point are you trying to make? Are you trying minimize the effects of racism and bigotry? Are you suggesting that hate crimes are concocted for political purposes? Do you think anti-Semitism is not real? Are you perhaps suggesting that the Holocaust is Fake News?
Using a simple browse through google, we can look at fake hate crimes just in November of this year.
Nov 27, Antioch, CA, Lawrence Phipps
Nov 14, Towson, MD, black lacrosse player Fynn Ajani Arthur
Nov 13, Des Moins, IA, Drake U student faked racial notes
Nov 05, Manhattan, KS KS student faked racial notes
RC, you offer assertions without evidence. To me, that implies fake news.
Google is a beautiful thing.
Let’s look at fake hate crimes just in November of this year.
Nov 27, Antioch, CA, Lawrence Phipps
Nov 14, Towson, MD, black lacrosse player Fynn Ajani Arthur
Nov 13, Des Moins, IA, Drake U student faked racial notes
Nov 05, Manhattan, KS KS student faked racial notes
Fake news?!!!
The person, who did this graffiti might consider visiting Auschwitz, where over 1.1 million people were annihilated during the WWII. About a million of murdered people were of Jewish descent/religion: men, women, children. In addition to Jews, Polish, Russian, and others were murdered there…
The Auschwitz museum is a truly heart-breaking experience, it changes one’s soul forever!
My father was a 12 year old boy in the Holocaust and had seen, as well as endured things that even no man should bare…
So sad when their only intention to speak their mind freely is to hurt others:(
This seems to me to be a reflection of someone’s negative inner dialogues being projected outwards.
…I can only wish them Peace and Happiness…Thank You for letting me share! C.G. – 2nd Generation Holocaust Survivor …