A swastika found at Madeline Park in West El Paso is revealing the troubling presence of racist imagery in our region.
On Thursday, a chalk-drawn swastika was discovered on the tennis court at the park in Kern Place and is raising questions regarding hate groups and antisemitic rhetoric.
The El Paso Police Department did not have information available when KTSM 9 News reached out.
“Actions such as this are indicative of a larger issue of minority groups targeted and scapegoated,” Jamie Flores, Director of the El Paso Holocaust Museum tells KTSM 9 News. “El Paso Holocaust Museum is outraged by the use of this form of hate speech in our city and asks the community to join us in taking a stand against hate in all forms that target any of our citizens.”
El Paso has seen an increase in white supremacist symbols, messaging, and murders in recent years.
The FBI and EPPD investigated the desecration of B’Nai Zion Cemetary in 2018 following reports of anti-Semitic cartoons and imagery were discovered and the city has experienced more explicit and violent expressions of racial hatred since.
In March, a collection of racist slurs were discovered prominently spray-painted on the sidewall of a cement factory in West El Paso.
In April, the El Paso Police Department investigated a series of swastika graffiti in the Northeast. Photos reveal red and gold swastikas spray-painted on houses, signs, vehicles, and garage doors.
“Particularly in these times of crisis, as we are seeing today, incidents of hate speech and action increase dramatically,” Flores told KTSM 9 News.
“But hate must be called out and confronted, as divisiveness and othering do not have a place in our community.”