Sophie Carson
A woman on Friday smeared black paint over a new mural on a prominent street corner that blended the Star of David with a swastika.
Bearing the words, "The irony of becoming what you once hated," in all capital letters, the mural suggested Jewish people were carrying out a new Holocaust in the Israel-Hamas war. On Thursday Milwaukee Jewish leaders called it "horribly antisemitic" and said it held all Jews responsible for the actions of the Israeli government. They also said it was particularly hurtful and dehumanizing to make any connection to the Holocaust, a systematic, state-sponsored execution of 6 million Jews.
WITI-TV (Channel 6) interviewed a woman named Sara Ninham midday Friday who said she vandalized the mural because she didn't like seeing a swastika. She did not mention the Israel-Hamas war or express any religious or political stances in the interview.
"The hate. Who puts a swastika (up)?" Ninham told the reporter. "To me, this is just promoting more violence. I get trying to raise awareness, but we've got kids that play over here. In such a short time, this was the fastest that I could try to get rid of it."
On her Facebook page, the woman posted a video holding up her hand covered in black paint.
"No the (expletive) they didn't just put a swastika on the corner of my block. I (expletive) handled it," she said in the video.
Ihsan Atta, who owns the building at East Locust and North Holton streets where the mural is displayed, said he expected vandalism. He is Palestinian-American and wanted to raise awareness about Israel's devastation in Gaza, which he considers to be geocidal and akin to the Holocaust.
He defended the image to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Thursday, arguing the swastika is "equivalent" to the Star of David because, he said, the star is used not only as a religious symbol, but a political symbol.
After some news coverage Thursday, Atta thought that would be all. He took satisfaction in getting more news coverage Friday because the mural was defaced.
"The whole point is to have exposure, to bring awareness, and she helped with that, so I appreciate her for that," he said.
Atta said security footage shows Ninham squirting black paint over the mural then smearing it around with her hands. He has filed a police report against her alleging vandalism and property destruction.
The artists who made the mural will work on cleaning and repairing the mural in the coming days, he said. But by late afternoon Friday, the black paint already appeared to be mostly wiped off the mural.
The pro-Palestinian mural replaced a well-known mural of Breonna Taylor, who was killed by Louisville police.
Prior to the defacing of the mural, the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation released a statement Friday saying the mural was the latest in a "staggering uptick in antisemitic rhetoric and misinformation."
The council said a recent public discussion hosted by the federation on "Civility in our Times" was targeted. Non-Jewish panel members, the council said, were sent emails with misinformation and antisemitic tropes. And participants found fliers on their cars claiming the federation and council were Islamaphobic and considered students who participated in spring protests "terrorists."
In Friday's statement, the council said neither it, nor the Jewish Federation, makes Islamaphobic comments.
Sophie Carson is a general assignment reporter who reports on religion and faith, immigrants and refugees and more. Contact her at scarson@gannett.com or 920-323-5758.
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