(JTA) — A public monument honoring Israel featuring a memorial was painted with a swastika in the Colombian capital of Bogota.
The monument is located on the State of Israel Avenue.
A swastika was painted in orange over the base of the monument and the word Israel was covered up by paint. It was discovered on Friday.
The Colombian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the government “condemns (such) expressions of intolerance and hatred, while reiterating Colombia’s respect, solidarity and gratitude to the people of Israel,” the EFE news agency reported.
Israeli Ambassador to Colombia Christian Cantor tweeted a photograph of the stone monument.
“This kind of disgusting violence and hatred against our people has no place in a country as dear as Colombia. We reaffirm our commitment in the firm fight against anti-Semitism,” he said in the tweet.
The head of the Confederation of Jewish Communities of Colombia, Marcos Peckel, in a tweet called the vandalism “demented, unacceptable and highly offensive” and that “the Jewish Menorah is a symbol of peace.”
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