Skip to Content
News

Downtown Mural Depicting Death and Star of David Is Defaced: ‘No Place For Hate’

11:00 AM PST on February 27, 2019

[dropcap size=big]L[/dropcap]ocal Jewish activists are calling for a gallery and event space in downtown L.A. to remove a seven-year-old mural on a brick wall for depicting a Death figure draped with the Star of David, sparking complaints of anti-Semitism.

Since popping up on social media on Feb. 25, the mural by local artist Vyal One has been defaced with paint and a spraypainted message reading: "No place for hate."

The L.A. chapter of the Anti-Defamation League tweeted about the mural on Feb. 26, calling on The Vortex event space to remove the piece that went up as part of a September 2011 group show “LA vs War.” The art exhibit dealt with anti-war and peace themes in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks, and the mural had since remained on the facility's brick exterior.

Jeff Norman, manager at Vortex, told L.A. Taco this morning that there are no current plans to repaint the mural, or to remove it. He also said he has not been in contact with the artist. "No one said anything ever about the mural. I hadn't even noticed it myself," Norman said.

In the mural, a skeletal figure holds what appears to be an infant and a missile. The figure wears a blue cloak that suggests a merging of the American national flag with Stars of David. The "stripes" of the American flag transform into snakeheads.

These images, according to anti-defamation groups, invoke historical anti-Semitic tropes about the so-called Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a forged 'document' that purportedly lays out a plan for Jewish global domination. The Protocols, long debunked, remain a persistent feature of fringe conspiracy theory.

This mural at the Vortex in LA crosses a line. We call for its removal. For a venue that purports to welcome the community, the Vortex should join us in condemning hateful imagery that invokes anti-Semitic canards conflating Jews with death, snakes, bombs, and killing babies. pic.twitter.com/aMqt4hQDn3

— ADL Los Angeles (@LA_ADL) February 26, 2019

[dropcap size=big]V[/dropcap]yal, a longtime L.A. muralist and artist, denied the charge of anti-Semitism in a brief statement to L.A. Taco. “It’s not an anti-Semitic mural. The child in the piece represents the growing lower class in the U.S.,” Vyal wrote in a message.

The L.A. ADL said The Vortex should remove the mural immediately.

“The Vortex should join us in condemning hateful imagery that invokes anti-Semitic canards conflating Jews with death, snakes, bombs and killing babies,” the group tweeted.

But the space, in a statement yesterday on Facebook, said it would not do and encouraged others to paint a rebutting mural next to it.

The Vortex stands for free expression. The artist whose mural includes the Star of David … did not intend to express an anti-Semitic message. We believe his intent deserves considerable weight,” the venue said.

“We are also open to hosting a public discussion about this controversy at The Vortex.”

On Tuesday afternoon Mayor Eric Garcetti, who is part Jewish, chimed in on the controversy, saying the mural by Vyal had no place in the city. His office told the L.A. Times that Garcetti was “incredibly upset” about the piece and was looking for “recourse” to see it removed.

Norman, the manager at Vortex, said there could be more than one interpretation for the contents of the mural.

"My role is to help make [the space] available, not to assess the art," he said.

Erwin Recinos contributed to this report.

RELATED: 'Offensive' Ava Gardner Mural in Koreatown Public School Will Be Painted Over

Already a user?Log in

Thanks for reading!

Register to continue

Become a Member

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from L.A. TACO

The Eight Best Punk Bars and Venues in Los Angeles

This may be the last generation of beautifully grimy punk bars and venues in a city that is overdeveloping all of these counterculture community spaces into the post-gentrification abyss. Go and support by buying drinks at all these places to make sure they stick around for the next generation.

September 27, 2023

L.A.’s Best Secret Ecuadorian Restaurant Opens Weekends Only at This Wilshire Blvd. Cafe

On weekends,Cafe Fresco transforms into one of the rare places in the city to find seco de chivo, llapingachao, guatita, and other regional Ecuadorian eats.

September 26, 2023

The Seven Best Poke Places In Los Angeles

In Los Angeles, the poke scene is starting to heal from a bit of a hangover caused by rampant overindulgence. These are the true Hawaiian-inspired, fresh fish spots that endure for good reason. Most, located right by the beach to enjoy L.A.'s crisp ocean breeze with your sashimi-grade fish.

September 25, 2023

Spot Check: Colombian Desgranados In Echo Park, Mexican Wine Festival At Mírate, and Perverted Waffles in DTLA

Plus, a party highlighting pan-African cuisine, a new Taiwanese cookbook by an awarded local from the San Gabriel Valley, and a Little Saigon food festival that starts tonight! Welcome back to Spot Check!

September 22, 2023

This 24-Year-Old Latina Mortician Beautifies the Dead and Influences the Living

Growing up in Arleta with a first-generation family from El Salvador, Berrios admits that her family only embraced her career choice two years ago, after she started to win awards like “Young Funeral Director of the Year.” The 24-year-old works as the licenced funeral director and embalmer at Hollywood Forever cemetery. As a young person born in peak Generation Z, she's documented her deathcare journey on TikTok and has accrued more than 43K followers on the platform. 

September 21, 2023
See all posts