Hackney’s Holocaust memorial stolen for third time in three years

Hackney’s Holocaust memorial plaque has been stolen for the third time in three years.

Cllr Linda Kelly first noticed the plaque in the Town Hall Square in Mare Street was missing on Monday November 26.

It was a replacement for a memorial plaque made out of brass which was stolen last year, which in turn replaced a third plaque stolen the year before that.

“This one had all the security it could to keep it from being stolen, so for a metal which was not valuable with all the precautions, one wonders the motivation behind the act,” said Cllr Kelly.

Martin Sugarman, chair of Haifa Twinning, which promotes links between the Israeli town and Hackney, said: “The last time it was made out of brass and it wasn’t regarded as particularly suspicious because thefts of metal were going on around the country.

“We think it is more likely to be racist on this occasion because we think it was made out of a non-valuable metal, we think there is something slightly sinister going on.”

The council is now looking at ways to make a replacement plaque more secure and will attach it inside a tree cage to make it more difficult to access.