<p>Holocaust Memorial Vandalism Statement </p>

The Sonoma County Commission on Human Rights (SCCHR) stands in solidarity with the Jewish Community of Sonoma County against racism and xenophobia of any and all circumstances. The holocaust in Europe in the 1930s and 1940s stands as one of the greatest genocides in history with nearly 12 million people perishing with 6 million of those being people of Jewish origin.

Over the 2022 New Year’s weekend a Holocaust memorial fountain in a Santa Rosa, California cemetery was vandalized for the second time in two years. The memorial, located in Santa Rosa Memorial Park cemetery, contains a fountain for ritual hand washing and a mosaic.

A fountain dedicated to Holocaust survivors was toppled onto the ground in pieces over the weekend at Santa Rosa Memorial Park, where police are investigating the act of vandalism to determine if it is a hate crime.

The fountain at the Holocaust Memorial was previously vandalized and knocked over in 2020, a case that remains open. Police said they have not undetermined if the same suspect or suspects vandalized the Memorial Fountain in both incidents. Both cases are being investigated as incidents of vandalism and possibly hate crimes, police said.

The fountain was part of a memorial created for the late Lillian Judd and her husband Emil, beloved figures in the local Jewish community who survived Nazi concentration camps during World War

II. Jews visiting the northeast Santa Rosa cemetery used the fountain for ritual washing and cleansing.

(Paragraphs 2-6 Sourced from Santa Rosa Press Democrat)

Anti-Semitism is not acceptable in our community. We the SCCHR stand in solidarity with the Jewish communities of the county, state, country and world. Anti-Semitism occurrences are at an all- time high in this century. SCCHR stands against any and all forms of senseless hatred.

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Contact Information:

Commission on Human Rights
(707) 565-2693
(707) 565-3770 (FAX)
chr@sonoma-county.org
www.sonomacountychr.org