‘Hate at our doorstep’: Confederate flag tied outside NYC Holocaust museum

Museum president links act to dispaly of flag by members of mob that stormed Capitol two days earlier, calls it ‘potent symbol of white supremacy’

By Ben Sales

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8 January 2021, 11:51 pm 6

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Ben Sales is a news editor at The Times of Israel

Illustrative: Portraits of Holocaust survivors are displayed at the Museum of Jewish Heritage as a vintage German train car, like those used to transport people to Auschwitz and other death camps, is uncovered on tracks outside the museum, in New York, Sunday, March 31, 2019. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

JTA — A Confederate flag was found tied to the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in New York City on Friday morning.

The incident comes less than two days after a Confederate flag was brought into the US Capitol by a member of the mob that stormed it Wednesday.

The lower Manhattan museum has notified the NYPD of the flag, Jack Kliger, the museum’s president and CEO, said in a statement Friday. He said the flag showed that “hate has now arrived at our doorstep.”

“This is an atrocious attack on our community and on our institution and must be met with the swift and forceful response by law enforcement,” he said. “The Confederate flag is a potent symbol of white supremacy, as evidenced by the events at the US Capitol this week.”

Supporters of President Trump protest in the Capitol Rotunda, Jan. 6, 2021. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images via JTA)

The NYPD did not confirm whether the flag was being investigated as a bias crime, but told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that it was being investigated by the NYPD detective division, and called the act “atrocious.”

Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest in the US Capitol Rotunda on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. (SAUL LOEB / AFP)

The Museum of Jewish Heritage played a central role in New York state’s efforts to combat anti-Semitism early last year, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed that every New York City public school student be required to visit a Holocaust museum.