SEATTLE — Seattle police are investigating after the Holocaust Center for Humanity was vandalized Tuesday.
The words "genocide in Gaza" were written in red letters across a front window.
"To be targeted was shocking. Vandalism is not standing up, vandalism is wrong any place, anywhere," said Dee Simon, the CEO of Holocaust Center for Humanity.
Simon said the incident was reported to police who were investigating it as a hate crime. On Friday, Seattle police said it determined it was not a hate crime after a "thorough investigation."
“SPD investigators learned the message reading, “Genocide in Gaza” was written in pen and was wiped off a front window without causing damage or expense. No explicit threat was made. The motivation for the graffiti was anger over the policy and practice of the Israeli government. We take these incidents seriously and investigate them to the fullest extent. This incident will be documented in the Seattle Police Department’s statistics as a non-criminal bias incident motivated by political ideology," police said in a statement.
The vandalism was across the photo of Steve Adler, a beloved holocaust survivor. Adler was a Kindertransport survivor. Those were children separated from their families, taking refuge in Britain during World War II and the Holocaust.
His voice and story are highlighted in the center today. Adler dedicated his life to educating students to combat hate and antisemitism. Adler died April 3, 2019.
"It was particularly sad to see it on his image which we respect and honor," said Simon.
The Holocaust Center for Humanity has been educating the public about how to fight antisemitism and hate for 35 years.
"I think one of the things we are experiencing right now is the lack of information that people have about the Holocaust. You know, that 63% of people don't even know that 6 million people were murdered in the Holocaust," Simon said.
Simon said Tuesday was the first case of vandalism the organization has experienced since October 7 and the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Simon said the rise in these incidents are being felt by Jewish organizations across the state.
"The rise in antisemitism - aggression towards the Jewish community - is something I've never seen in over 30 years and it's disheartening," Simon said.
Simon said the organization works to educate students and educators about these issues especially now and has been teaching a class on the history of Israel and Hamas.
"It's not a black-and-white issue. There's a lot of gray and how do you help students understand truth, versus opinion, versus misinformation," Simon said.
This year, Gov. Jay Inslee signed two laws aimed to combat hate crimes. One added defacing public property to the state's hate crime statute and the other would create a hate crime hotline to help track incidents and support victims.
Simon said those laws will help and that education is also the cornerstone to fighting hate.
"Educate yourself, understand what the issues are, understand the facts, and show compassion," Simon said.