Vandalized Rabin bust
Vandalized Rabin bustPolice spokesperson

Tel Aviv police arrested a man suspected of vandalized a bust of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square Tuesday morning.

A police spokesperson released images of the vandalized bust, showing what appears to be a poorly-drawn swastika next to the words “Danke 6,000,000”, or “Thank you, 6,000,000” in German.

Shortly after the discovery was made, officers located a 43-year-old man, who was apparently under the influence of alcohol, they believe was responsible for the graffiti. Police say the suspect was carrying two knives and two markers. The suspect was arrested and taken in for questioning.

The Rabin Square memorial, dedicated to the memory of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin following his November 1995 assassination at the hands of Bar Ilan law student and nationalist activist Yigal Amir, has been the target of vandals in the past.

In October 2003, vandals painted swastikas on the memorial. Eight years later, Shvuel Schijveschuurder, whose parents and siblings were murdered in a suicide bombing in 2001, spray-painted the words “price tag” and “Free Yigal Amir” on the memorial, and splashed paint around the memorial.

Vandalized bust
Vandalized bustPolice spokesperson