A rally against hate speech will take place at the Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg Thursday at 6 p.m.
St. Petersburg Police are investigating who spray painted a swastika and "Jews are guilty" on the outside of the museum in the early hours of May 27. The incident is being treated as a hate crime, and the FBI is part of the investigation.
The Anti-Defamation League says there was a rise in violence against Jewish people in the U.S. during the recent fighting between Israel and Hamas.
The ADL reported more than 2,100 cases of assault, vandalism and harassment against Jews in 2019 — the most since it started tracking incidents in 1979. The number was third highest on record in 2020, according to ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.
Holocaust Museum director Elizabeth Gelman said security upgrades were in the works before last week’s incident.
"When the museum was built the type of security issues we are dealing with now were not even thought of,” she told FOX 13.
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, who announced her campaign for governor this week, says she'll attend Thursday’s rally.
The museum is asking participants to bring a book on any topic to be part of “a unifying and interactive moment” during the event.
