Take action
Virginia residents
- Click here to send a letter to Governor Youngkin and urge him to veto HB2783 unless the language is changed.
- After sending an email, download a script and call the governor’s office to share your concerns,
Organizations/temples
- Sign this coalition letter, which will be sent to Governor Youngkin. Note: only to be signed by authorized officers of the organizations,
Non-Virginia residents
- Click here to send a letter to Governor Youngkin and urge him to veto HB2783 unless the language is changed. This bill can have unintended consequences in other states too, because lawmakers may use the same erroneous language to craft a bill.
Why this campaign
In its current form, HB2783 fails to clearly distinguish between the Nazi symbol Hakenkreuz (pronounced as HA-KEN-KROYTZ) or “hooked cross” and the sacred Swastika. If passed into law, it can have serious negative consequences for Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Zoroastrians, and some Native American communities.
The bill creates the idea that there is a “good Swastika” and a “bad Swastika” – a false notion that is not supported by historic facts. In fact, word “Swastika” is a Sanskrit word and not German and itself means “all that is good!”
Hitler’s symbol of hate was never called “Swastika,” He called it a “Hakenkreuz”(German for “hooked cross”).
The bill must ensure that ALL religious communities are protected while targeting hatred, bigotry, and antisemitism.
Words, context, and intentions matter.
#SwastikaIsSacred
Information booklet and infographic on Swastika
Share this illustrated booklet and infographic with family, friends, colleagues, policymakers and others to increase awareness about the Swastika and promote the correct usage of terminology to distinguish between a hate symbol and a sacred symbol. Words, content, and intentions matter!
Videos to watch and share
Additional resources
Articles
- Model for good legislative language: The government in Victoria, Australia makes a clear distinction between Swastika and the Hakenkreuz
- Steve Heller: When is a Swastika not a Hate Symbol?
- Nikunj Trivedi: Wrongfully Accused – The Swastika is not Hitler’s Hakenkreuz
- Rakesh Krishnan Simha: Lost in Mistranslation: Why the Hindu Swastika is nothing like the German Hakenkreuz. IndiaFacts
- Taylor Romine: The New York town of Swastika votes to keep its name. CNN
Academic research
- Jeff Kelman: The Hakenkreuz, Swastika, and the Christian Cross, MA Thesis, Gratz College, Spring 2021
Books
- Daniel Rancour-Laferriere: The Sign of the Cross: From Golgotha to Genocide. 2017, Routledge
- T.K. Nakagaki: The Buddhist Swastika and Hitler’s Cross: Rescuing a Symbol of Peace from the Forces of Hate. 2018, Stone Bridge Press
- Thomas Wilson: The Swastika: The Earliest Known Symbol, And Its Migrations; With Observations On The Certain Industries In Pre-Historic Times. 1894, The Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum