Swastika found inside US State Department elevator, Blinken condemns ‘abhorrent’ act

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that a swastika was found carved in an elevator at the State Department earlier in the week as he condemned the “abhorrent” anti-Semitic incident.

“Late yesterday, I learned that a swastika was found carved in an elevator at the Harry S Truman building. The hateful graffiti has been removed and this incident will be investigated,” Blinken said in an internal email to State Department employees, according to a person familiar with the matter.

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Axios first reported on the incident and said the elevator was near the office of the State Department’s special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism.

In the email to State Department employees, Blinken said the incident was a painful reminder that anti-Semitism “isn’t a relic of the past. It’s still a force in the world, including close to home.”

He added: “And it’s abhorrent. It has no place in the United States, at the State Department, or anywhere else.”

The top US diplomat, who is currently in India on an official visit, said the State Department was grateful and proud of its Jewish colleagues.

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