$20,000 Donation to Anne Frank Memorial from Chobani Founder
I love this memorial, for many reasons. I first learned about it when my mother came to visit over the summer. While I was on the air she walked, and walked and walked around downtown Boise. Townsquare Media, WOW Countries parent company sits right along the Boise Greenbelt. One day my mama excitedly came back to the studio telling me all about the Anne Frank Memorial she walked around. I had never been even though it was just about a mile walk from the studio. The next day, mom and I went together. It is a peaceful, beautiful place. The news yesterday of it being vandalized broke my heart.
On Monday the human rights memorial was plastered with nine large swastika stickers that read read "We are everywhere" throughout. Idahoans have shown outrage and turned to the police who say it happened sometime between Monday evening and Tuesday morning. Police are continuing to investigate and hopefully will be able to find the culprits.
Boise Mayor Lauren McLean joined with other local leaders earlier today to condemn the Nazi hate symbols at the memorial. "I want to make this incredibly clear: The vandalism at the Anne Frank Memorial is reprehensible," McLean said. "It is an affront to all that we are, the values we hold dear, to the memories of so many people in this community and this country who fought against that very topic, and of course, and of course to the people in this community who it targets."
KTVB beautifully explained: The memorial honors the memory, legacy, and wisdom found within the diary of holocaust victim Anne Frank. Frank penned a diary while in hiding from Nazi persecution as Jewish people across Europe were targeted and executed in concentration camps. The Boise site is the only Anne Frank memorial in the United States, it serves as an educational park designed to engage visitors to think, to talk with one another, and to respond to human rights issues.
Chobani founder, Hamdi Ulukaya is donating $20,000 to be used to help clean away hate from the memorial. He said let's all be the light this Hanukkah and stand with Boise against hatred.