Two antisemitic incidents of vandalism were reported on Friday by StopAntisemitism, a nonprofit that tracks antisemitic incidents across the world.
The Algemeiner reports that inn Florida, an unknown individual heaved a brick — graffitied with a swastika and a message saying, “No Jews, F*** K****” — through the window of the Pensacola Chabad Jewish Center located in the Goulding section of the city. In another incident targeting the house of University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Greek fraternity Sigma Alpha Mu, a swastika and homophobic slur were graffitied on two windows and the front door.
“We are in constant communication with law-enforcement agencies who have assigned a detective who is investigating the incident,” Pensacola Chabad Rabbi Mendel Danow and his wife Nechama Danow said on Thursday in a joint statement. “Thank G-D, at this time we are not aware of any safety threats on the Chabad facilities or its members, but we remain vigilant and aware.”
The Algemeiner has asked Pensacola Police to comment on this story. It will be updated accordingly.
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor president Santa J. Ono said on Friday that the administration is aware of the incident and has asked the Ann Arbor Police Department (AAPD) to investigate it.
“The university condemns these acts of vandalism, which included broken windows and spray-painted messages that are vile, homophobic and antisemitic,” Ono said. “These types of incidents are in direct conflict with the university’s deeply held values of respect and inclusion and have no place within our campus community or in the broader Ann Arbor community.”
StopAntisemitism on Friday noted that University of Michigan scored a C in a Sept. 2022 report it authored about the campus climate for Jewish students.
In commenting on the vandalism of the Chabad Jewish Center, the group said, “This type of hate must be eradicated in 2023.”
Both incidents come amid a nationwide spike in antisemitic incidents. According to an annual audit by the Anti-Defamation League issued in 2023, 36 percent more such incidents took place in 2022 than the previous year, with ten incidents happening per day for a total of 3,697, the highest ever since the ADL began tracking them in 1979.
The ADL noted that acts of hate targeting Jewish institutions and synagogue were also historically high, with 589 incidents, including a hostage situation at synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, and 91 bomb threats, the most recorded since 2017. Four hundred-and-ninety-four incidents took place on K-12 campuses, and two-hundred-and-nineteen incidents took place at colleges and universities, an increase of 41 percent from the previous year.
Source - The Algemenier/Twitter - Image - Reuters