SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – A protestor reportedly displayed a flag featuring a swastika during a rally in San Francisco, California this weekend.
The incident was reported by X (formerly Twitter) user JConr, who posted a photo from the rally to the social platform.
The photo appears to show a woman holding a sign that features the Israeli flag modified to show a swastika in place of the Star of David.
The Anti-Defamation League says that “Since 1945, the swastika has served as the most significant and notorious of hate symbols, anti-Semitism and white supremacy for most of the world outside of Asia…In the United States, the swastika is overwhelmingly viewed as a hate symbol.”
Jeremy Russell, Director of Marketing and Communications for the Jewish Community Relations Council, reviewed the image and told the Bay Area Telegraph, “It’s remarkable to me how people fail to understand that calling Jewish people “Nazis” is inherently antisemitic and hateful. The fact is that calling anyone a Nazi, unless you’re specifically discussing individuals that were members of the German army or government during World War II, is highly problematic and deeply offensive to Jews. Signs like this and other troubling rhetoric, as well as the graffiti and vandalism, are creating an environment in the Bay Area that is unsafe for Jews, regardless of where they stand on the Israel-Hamas War.”
