For the second time in two days, anti-Semitic graffiti appeared on one of the city’s busiest crosswalks.

The intersection at 7th and H Streets NW features a public art installation inspired by the Chinese zodiac.

As pictured, the graffiti this morning said “JEW” inside the rats, one of the 12 lunar zodiac symbols painted in the gaps between the crosswalk stripes. Jewish people have been depicted as rats in propaganda films like The Eternal Jew.

Maintenance employees with the DowntownDC Business Improvement District and the District Department of Transportation are working to remove the graffiti, says Rachel Rose Hartman, a spokesperson for DowntownDC.

“The crosswalks were defaced in the area. We have worked with our government partners including DDOT to remove the content,” says D.C. Police spokesperson Aquita Brown. Detectives are now investigating the incident.

Anti-Semitic graffiti appeared yesterday afternoon and was removed, before new graffiti appeared this morning. DowntownDC BID will monitor the site, according to the mayor’s office.


Updated with comment from DowntownDC.

Police are asking anyone with information about this incident to call 202-727-9099.

Filed Under: anti-semitic, chinatown, graffiti,