17-year-old accused of vandalising Holocaust memorial in Boston

Police are investigating whether the incident was a hate crime

A passerby, left, and a law enforcement official, right, stand near broken glass at the New England Holocaust Memorial (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A 17-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of throwing a rock through a glass Holocaust memorial in Boston.

Two bystanders saw the teenager shatter a glass panel at the New England Holocaust Memorial, the Boston Police Department said. The bystanders tackled and detained him until police arrived.

The broken panel was etched with numbers that represent the tattoos given to Jewish people by the Nazis. The memorial bears millions of these numbers, carved into the panels and hung from 54-foot towers.

The US Holocaust Memorial Museum said in a statement that it was “deeply alarmed” by the vandalism.

“This is an egregious affront to Holocaust memory and Holocaust survivors as well as American society,“ the statement read.

The suspect has been charged with willful destruction of property, and police are investigating whether the act was a hate crime.

The vandalism comes on the heels of a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where some attendees carried Nazi flags and chanted “Jew will not replace us”. Three people died, and dozens more were injured, in connection with the weekend’s events.

“In light of the recent events and unrest in Charlottesville, it’s sad to see a young person choose to engage in such senseless and shameful behaviour,” Police Commissioner William Evans said.

He added: “Clearly, this type of behaviour will not be tolerated in our city.”

Police officers stood guard at the memorial overnight on Monday to protect the panels. Visitors left flowers and candles near the vandalism site.

“Today & every day Boston stands up against hate,” Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said on Twitter. “I'm saddened to see such a despicable action in this great city.”

The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil rights organisation, reports anti-Semitic hate crimes jumped almost 90 per cent in the first three months of 2017. The Boston memorial has already been vandalised once this summer, when a 21-year-old man allegedly shattered another of the glass panels. The suspect has plead not guilty to charges of vandalism.

This summer’s incidents mark the first time the memorial has been vandalised since it opened in 1995. The memorial’s dedication was attended by author and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, who warned the audience that racism was still alive and well.

“We must look for hope,” he told attendees. “There is a marvellous saying by a great Hasidic master: ‘If you look for the spark, you will find it in the ashes’.”