Taylor Coffman, Zach Lupetin and their daughter July live in the Santa Monica area. They reported antisemitic sidewalk graffiti to the police, but also decided to beautify some of it. Together with a bucket of chalk, the family turned the swastikas into hearts, flowers and butterflies. They shared their project on social media. They say the world needs more art and less hate.
"I was just like - this is a beautiful way to say ‘love lives here - we’re here, and we’re not going to stand for this kind of thing in our neighborhood,’" Coffman explained.
Others in the Jewish community said they have noticed a rise in antisemitism recently. "There’s so much darkness in the world already - we don’t need this symbol of hate and divisiveness in our community," he said.
Santa Monica Mayor Phil Brock condemned the symbols as "reprehensible" and emphasized the pain caused by their presence in the community.
Police responded to the area and removed or painted over many of the offensive images that remained, but as of 5:30 p.m. more had popped up in the city, which an SMPD Officer confirmed to FOX 11 had popped up in the last 24 hours. City officials say crews will be deployed around Virginia Avenue Park on Monday morning to remove or paint over the symbols.
"Let me be clear: there is no place for hate in Santa Monica," said SMPD Chief Ramon Batista in a statement. "We are appalled by these cowardly acts of anti-Semitism. Our department is fully committed to upholding the safety and dignity of all members of our community."