Philadelphia artist turns swastikas painted on property to flowers

Marcy Oster

(JTA) — Garbage cans throughout a suburban Philadelphia neighborhood reportedly have been painted with flowers, as well as other symbols of love and caring, after a Jewish woman was the victim of an anti-Semitic attack.

Esther Cohen-Eskin of Havertown discovered swastikas painted on her trash can on Aug. 19, the Associated Press reported. She and her husband have lived there for 20 years.

“The swastika is such a deep-rooted sign of hatred for everyone, especially Judaism, that I felt so targeted,” she told the AP on Thursday.

Cohen-Eskin, who is an artist, decided to paint over the swastikas with flowers. Then she wrote a letter to her neighbors asking them to first paint a swastika on their trash bin and then paint over it as she had.

People as far away as Canada, Germany, and Ireland called to offer their support. Some send photos of their own decorated trash containers, according to the AP.

“It gave me a whole new reassurance in humanity,” Cohen-Eskin told the AP. “I feel invigorated by all the love. It’s exciting … it makes you feel there’s so much good out there.”

Let’s block ads! (Why?)