Pro-Palestinian Protesters Deface World War I Monument

Pro-Palestinian protesters defaced a memorial to a decorated unit of the United States Armed Forces during the First World War this week, drawing sharp criticism from the public and officials. The outrage over the defacement followed similar incidents on college campuses and led New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) to offer a personal award for the arrest of the perpetrators.

The monument to the 107th United States Infantry Division was vandalized by the anti-Israel protesters Monday. The unit was famed for crossing into Germany under heavy resistance at the end of World War I.

The monument shows seven soldiers of the unit, which helped bring about Germany’s decision to seek the armistice that ended the war.

Statues of the soldiers were covered in stickers with Palestinian messages while the base of the statue was defaced with multiple writings of the word “Gaza.”

Protesters burned an American flag next to the memorial and captured the moment on video.

Adams offered $5,000 toward the fund to catch the vandals. The mayor’s effort is also being matched by $10,000 from the NYPD Crime Stoppers fund.

Last night, pro-Hamas rioters burned the American flag at the World War I memorial in New York City. Terrorist sympathy is toxic to our society. Hamas and the Far-Left are winning a propaganda war in the United States. Biden needs to do the right thing and rebuke these riots, but… pic.twitter.com/k9Ck4gZIFG

— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) May 7, 2024

“We’re going to treat this crime with the seriousness that it deserves,” said the mayor. “I will not stand by while people desecrate memorials for those who fought for democracy and human rights. The right rights that they are calling for.”

Following the incident two dozen protesters were arrested while attempting to march to the Met Gala held on Monday.

Separately, protesters placed a Palestinian flag on the memorial honoring Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, who was one of the major forces behind the Union victory in the Civil War and responsible for the freeing of thousands of slaves.

The defacement came after similar acts on other campuses. On George Washington University Law School’s campus students draped a statue of former President George Washington with the Palestinian flag and a headscarf.

Following the incident, staff placed a large American flag on the side of a building. Protesters responded by posting an image over it with a photo of President Joe Biden, calling him “Genocide Joe.” The protesters also placed an image of flames of the flag, stating that Gaza would be a spark to burn down the American ‘empire.’