Sadness at anti-Semitic graffiti in Brighton

A Star of David was spray-painted on a cracked window along with a message that read “free Palestine from Zionist Nazis now” on a nearby wall.

The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, was walking from her home in Hanover to Churchill Square in Brighton when she saw the graffiti.

She said her “mind went straight to Kristallnacht” which translates to Night of Broken Glass, when Jewish people and their businesses were violently targeted in 1938 in Germany.

The Star of David graffiti, left, and other daubing, right (Image: The Argus)

“My family came to the UK because of persecution before the Holocaust,” she said.

“My great aunt and other relatives who were left behind were murdered by the Nazis.

"A simple walk from my home in Hanover to Churchill Square has become fraught with fear and sorrow. It really hurts to see this.

“I immediately had an image of Kristallnacht when I saw it. It was the combination of the graffitied Star of David and smashed glass which made me think of that. Kristallnacht heralded the Holocaust.

“Israel has done terrible things, however if I was a Russian person walking through Brighton I don’t think I would see a graffiti that would give me the same fear because of what Putin has done.

"There are other examples.

“Israel is held to different standards and that is what is feeding into this antisemitism whereas those countries seem to get away with it.”

The graffiti was found in an alleyway connecting Old Steine and Palace Place near the Royal Pavilion.

Broken glass beneath one of the Star of David pieces of graffiti (Image: The Argus)

Fiona Sharpe, who works for the Sussex Jewish Representative Council, said: "Once again we see echoes of our past in the graffiti daubed on windows and walls in Brighton. A broken window painted with a Star of David and nearby a perverse crass political statement, calling Jewish people Nazis.

"The same Jewish people who were systematically marked to be slaughtered in a manner unique to the Holocaust and in numbers that thank God have never since replicated.

"The ‘sleight of hand’ that seems to differentiate Jews from Zionists is a convenient reinterpretation by those who are, in essence, just old fashioned anti-Semites. The majority of British Jews identify as Zionists - meaning that they believe that the Jewish people should have a homeland.

"Given our history, not just in Nazi Germany, but our expulsion from Spain, Portugal, most of the North African and Arab worlds, and even, in 1290, from England, it’s hardly surprising that we would want our own homeland, like all other people.

"Zionist means Jew. Those who scrawl it in political slogans fool no one. This is nothing more than hate speech - antisemitic graffiti, in the center of our liberal tolerant City of Sanctuary. And we are tired of seeing it. We ask the police and Brighton and Hove City Council to be less tolerant and to call out this ancient hatred."

Council leader Bella Sankey said: “I am very concerned to hear of the anti-Semitic graffiti that has been reported.

“A number of offensive tags were removed on Wednesday evening, and more were painted over on Thursday morning.

“The rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia in Brighton and Hove and across the world must be condemned in the strongest terms.

“There is no space for hate in our city. Working with our colleagues in Sussex Police we will take swift action to remove any racist material and will do everything we can to bring perpetrators to justice.

“We know the events in Gaza and Israel have had a huge impact on residents in Brighton and Hove.

“Our thoughts remain with the Israeli and Palestinian children, families and communities that have experienced devastating loss in this violence.

“Our focus is on supporting all our residents in Brighton and Hove who have been impacted, and to work to support community cohesion.”