Donations Pour In After Anne Frank Memorial In Idaho Vandalized

BOISE, ID — Donations are pouring in after the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial in Boise was vandalized last week, and thousands of dollars have been raised for the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights to repair the memorial.

The Idaho-Statesman reports racist and anti-Semitic slurs were found on two tablets at the memorial on May 9, and two days later, offensive writing was found on a sign dedicated to Bill Wassmuth, whom the center is named after. The center is also home to the Anne Frank Memorial.

The center has received two large donations, both for $20,000, the Statesman reports. In addition to the two donations, a GoFundMe page set up on behalf of the center has raised close to $9,000. In a statement, Boise Police said they were investigating both incidents, which they referred to as "malicious harassment."

Repairs are estimated to cost $20,000. Any money raised above that will be donated to a human rights educational project.

"While we are deeply disheartened by this senseless destruction, this use of divisive and demeaning language only emboldens our mission," the Wassmuth Center wrote on Facebook when the first act of vandalism was discovered. "Promoting human rights in our community is more important now than ever, and an act of vandalism such as this demonstrates the need for Boiseans to recommit themselves to ensuring all our schools and institutions are safe and welcoming for every member of the human family.They can deface the Universal Declaration of Human Rights tablet, but they can’t destroy its message of human dignity."

Image by Troy Maben/Associated Press