Idaho businesses criticize vandalism of Anne Frank statue

A number of Boise businesses have sent a letter decrying the recent vandalism of the city’s Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial to Idaho public officials.

“The cosignatories employee 1,000 employees and are easily responsible for more than $250 million in revenue in Idaho,” said Dan Berger, an entrepreneur who coordinated the letter along with Rabbi Mendel Lifshitz of the Chabad Lubavitch of Idaho.

The letter was sent to Gov. Brad Little, as well as to Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, Idaho House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, Boise Mayor Lauren McLean and Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee.

Signatories included representatives from companies such as Holland & Hart, Coldwell Banker Tomlinson Group and Fisher’s Technology.

“We, as the business leaders in the Treasure Valley and throughout Idaho, defiantly stand united with Jewish neighbors against any and all antisemitic attacks and reiterate that they have no place here,” stated the letter, noting that the statue had also been defamed with racist and anti-Semitic hate speech in May 2017 on multiple occasions. “We will not tolerate this activity in our community and will do everything in our power to ensure it never happens again.

“We call on law enforcement, who have — as always — been exemplary, and government officials to not just bring the perpetrators to justice on hate crimes but also make certain these incidents stop once and for all,” the letter continued. “Our businesses and our community will always remain a welcoming place for people of all faiths, ethnicities, and backgrounds. It is the diversity of our community that makes it so special and strong.”

The vandalism consisted of nine swastika stickers with the notation “We are everywhere” affixed to the statue. The incident drew nationwide attention, with organizations such as the Washington, D.C.-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, condemning the act.

Other Idaho businesses also responded to the incident. Oliver Russell, the Boise-based branding agency that participated in organizing fundraising efforts in 2000 to create the Memorial, started a GoFundMe campaign to raise $5,000 toward the installation of a security system from Sloan Security Group in partnership with Guho Construction to better protect the educational park. So far, the campaign has raised more than $18,000 from over 300 donors. Funds raised beyond the cost of the security system’s installation will be directed to support the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights’ ongoing educational programming and resources, the organization said

Healthwise, a Boise-based nonprofit organization, also announced that it was donating to The Wassmuth Center and issued a challenge to other businesses to do the same in response to the vandalism. In addition, the company said in a statement that billboards around the Treasure Valley will display its commitment to standing with the Wassmuth Center against hate and violence.

Boise State University President Dr. Marlene Tromp and the Idaho Human Rights Commission also issued statements condemning the incident. So did the Idaho Republican Party, with signatures from a dozen Republican elected officials, including Little.

Dedicated in 2002, the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial was built by the Wassmuth Center. It is the only Anne Frank memorial in the United States, according to the Associated Press.

The Wassmuth Center is named after Bill Wassmuth, a Catholic priest from northern Idaho who left the priesthood to focus on fighting white supremacists and the Aryan Nations, a neo-Nazi group that at the time was based in northern Idaho. Wassmuth died in 2002. He is also represented in the memorial and one of the stickers was placed over a photo of his face.

The Associated Press also contributed to this story.