A Holocaust memorial was desecrated with anti-Semitic stickers and posters right before the start of Yom Kippur in White Plains, N.Y.
The offensive material was discovered at the Garden of Remembrance, a fenced-in area built in 1990 by the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center. Officials believe that the incident occurred on Monday, although it was only discovered on Tuesday, according to local publication The Journal News.
“Very clear, very graphic and very insulting. It was meant to shock, it wasn’t something subtle,” Westchester County executive George Latimar told CBS2. “For this to be the site of an act of hatred is particularly heinous.”
Hundreds gathered for an interfaith prayer vigil at the site on Thursday.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo directed the State Police Hate Crimes Task Force to aid in investigating the vandalism.
He said on Twitter he was “disgusted” by the desecration of the Holocaust memorial and added, “More than 74 years ago the entire world reeled in shock, horror and sorrow over the senseless murder of more than six million Jews— mothers, fathers, children, grandparents, uncles, aunts, friends and neighbors. Vandalizing a memorial lovingly built in their honor is a revolting and cowardly act.”
White Plains Mayor Tom Roach said the vandalism “is a chilling reminder that ignorance and hate know no boundaries. In the interim we stand together as one city, one community, against these senseless acts and those who perpetrate them.”
