BROOKLINE, MASS. (WHDH) - Brookline police are investigating the placement of antisemitic stickers similar to those recently seen outside Harvard Hillel in Cambridge.
The stickers in Brookline, which like those at Harvard show the Israeli flag with a swastika replacing the Star of David and the message “Stop Funding Israeli Terrorism”, were located on upper Harvard Street.
“Most of the stickers were located on public property (light poles and street signs), but there were several located on the window of a private business,” Brookline police said in a statement. “In total there were 15 stickers on public property and 3 on private property.”
Stickers were removed as evidence, with the remainder removed by the public works department. Those on private property had already been removed when authorities moved to remove the rest.
Bernard Greene, chair of the Brookline Select Board, said the images “bring to the surface painful memories and the scars left by a millennia of antisemitism”.
“The use of this symbol is intended to intimidate and harass the Jewish Community of Brookline. Brookline has been a welcoming bastion of inclusion for the Jewish community for over a hundred years,” Green said. We have been a home to multiple diverse congregations of numerous denominations.”
Greene said the stickers should be offensive to all, not just those who are Jewish.
“These symbols of hate are also intended to intimidate and harass the entire community including Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Hindu residents and residents with no religious affiliation, all of whom stand against hate,” he said. “We will not be intimidated!”
Local residents shared their concern and disappointment regarding the offensive stickers.
“It’s shocking. It’s not something I would expect to see anywhere really, but especially not in Brookline,” said a resident named Tina.
Elizabeth Russo, who lives in Jamaica Plain, said she felt threatened by those who want to make people feel upset by posting such stickers.
“It’s upsetting and disturbing to see inflammatory stickers that are trying to simplify something that’s really complicated,” Russo said.
Anyone with information about this is encouraged to contact the Brookline Police Department at 617-730-2222.
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