WASHINGTON — Vandals have repeatedly scrawled the word “Jew” on images of rats appearing on an outdoor Chinese Zodiac art display in Washington, DC’s Chinatown.
Maintenance crews employed by DowntownDC, a private non-profit that encourages business in the city center, on Monday cleaned the graffiti from the Zodiac artwork, the DCist news website reported.
Michael Villafranca, a passerby, notified police when he saw the defaced Zodiac animals, which are stenciled among the crosswalk lines at 8th and H Street in Washington’s northwest quadrant. He posted a photo on Twitter.
It was the third time in a week that the installation has been defaced with the word.
“I am so disturbed and sickened to see this walking into work, and in DC of all places,” Villafranca said in an Aug. 3 tweet. Another passerby had posted a photo of the vandalism.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the
terms
Other animals in the Zodiac display were left alone.
https://twitter.com/MCVillafranca/status/762676831900360704
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
