Antisemitic graffiti on the outer wall of the Hlocaust Museum min St. Petersburg, Florida. Photo: Screenshot.

Florida police are investigating a fresh hate crime against the Jewish community, this time involving the vandalism of the Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg with sinister antisemitic graffiti.

A large swastika and the words “Jews are guilty” were daubed in black paint on the museum’s outer wall.

Police officers on patrol in the area were alerted to the offending message in the early hours of Thursday morning. The graffiti was quickly painted over later on Thursday.

“What was particularly chilling is the phrase, ‘the Jews are guilty,'” Elizabeth Gelman — the museum’s executive director — told Fox News. “It’s one of the oldest tropes in history. Seeing it here was heartbreaking.”

Gelman said that the outrage had reinforced the museum’s commitment “to our vital mission to prevent future genocides and educate people about the dangers of antisemitism and other forms of racism and hatred.”

“Clearly, our society still has a long way to go,” she said.

Local politicians also condemned the incident.

“This act of antisemitic hate and bigotry on the walls of Florida’s tribute to the millions of lives lost in the Holocaust is disgusting and reprehensible,” Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL) declared in a statement. “These symbols of hate have no place in our Sunshine City, home to so many Holocaust survivors and their descendants. The perpetrators who committed this crime must be apprehended swiftly and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman remarked that “even St. Pete isn’t immune to the hate that exists in our society.”

“We stand with our Jewish community,” the mayor said.