By Shannon Lukens.

 

The Steamboat Team to Disrupt Antisemitism and Discrimination, known as STAND, has issued a letter of response to the recent swastika incident in Steamboat Springs. The letter (below) has been written by a high school student in Steamboat Springs. It is in reference to the vandalizing of a picnic table that someone has done, by carving a swastika into it, and also burning a swastika into the table, near the Memorial Park field on Maple Street.

Steamboat Springs Police and the City of Steamboat Springs are offering a reward for who did the damage. The table top has been removed by the maintenance crew with the City of Steamboat Springs Parks & Recreation Department. It will be repaired and replaced.

Reach out to Steamboat Springs Police at 970-879-1144, or report it anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 970-870-6226, or through Safe2Tell.org by calling 877-542-7233 or make a Web Report. 

PICNIC TABLE IN STEAMBOAT SPRINGS IS VANDALIZED WITH SWASTIKAS

 

Here is the statement issued by STAND; Sept. 1, 2023.

From: Steamboat Team to disrupt Antisemitism and Discrimination 

Memo: Educational Letter of Response

Re: Swastika Incident in Steamboat

September 1, 2023

We see symbols every day in all aspects of our lives. Symbols are used to convey ideas, qualities, emotions, material objects/products, opinions and beliefs. Unfortunately, symbols are also used to convey hate and bias. The swastika, used by the Nazis during the Holocaust and World War 2, is a symbol of hate.  The swastika is one of the most significant and notorious of hate symbols associated with antisemitism; or the  hostility or prejudice against the Jewish people.  Unfortunately, this symbol has made many appearances over the years, most recently in our own town of Steamboat Springs.  On August 30th, a large swastika was found burned into a picnic table at Memorial Park, adjacent to Steamboat Springs High School.

The swastika wasn’t always a negative symbol. From ancient times, many eastern religions have used the swastika to represent prosperity and good luck. In Sanskrit, the word means good fortune or well-being. However, in the 1930s, Adolf Hitler adopted the swastika as the primary symbol for the Nazi Party in Germany. The Nazis aimed to create a German society based on racial purity that was free from people considered to be “undesirable,” including Jews, people with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ+ community and various ethnic, religious and political minorities. In their effort to ‘cleanse’ the German population, the Nazis murdered over six million Jews and millions of others during the Second World War.  The swastika was transformed forever into a symbol of hate.

“The swastika has morphed into a universal symbol of hate,” said Abraham Foxman, National Director Emeritus of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a Jewish anti-hate organization. “Today it’s used as an epithet against not only Jews, but also people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community and other marginalized communities, because it is a symbol which frightens.”

No anti-semitic behavior or acts of hatred should be tolerated in Steamboat Springs. Whether this was an act of ignorance or purposeful targeting, the recent swastika burning begs the community of Steamboat Springs to acknowledge and address this problem. As a student in our town, I am very concerned about this incident but I am hopeful that we can learn from our actions and move forward. History will repeat itself if we are not the ones who put an end to this hatred.

Rabbi Kolby Morris-Dahary, the leader of the Jewish Community in Steamboat, states: “We are deeply hurt, saddened, and outraged at another anti-semitic hate crime in our community. I wish to share with you some of the wisdom offered to us by our tradition. This phrase, written by the Baal Shem Tov, is inscribed in our High Holiday prayer books as well as on the wall at Yad VaShem, the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem. It reads, Forgetfulness leads to exile; while remembrance is the secret of redemption. We all must take this message to heart. We must dedicate our community to remembering together and we must allow ourselves to open our eyes to an ugly pattern that is surfacing here in Steamboat. Let us come together to remember, be aware and vigilant, and collectively hold this behavior accountable. We remain hopeful that this hate will turn towards kindness, ignorance will turn to informed compassion, and Steamboat Springs can begin to experience redemption from discrimination in all forms”.

We are incredibly grateful to the Steamboat Springs Police Department for their vigilant efforts in working to identify the responsible individual(s) and their no-tolerance policy towards discrimination in Routt County.  Please consider reporting any bias crimes to the Steamboat Springs Police Department as well as the ADL Mountain States Region at www.adl.org/report.  We STAND stronger together.

Written for STAND by E.M., a sophomore in Steamboat Springs. Information about swastikas provided by ADL (Anti-Defamation League)