Anti-Semitic incidents on campuses have been seeing an upward trend in the last few weeks, with Teachers College at Columbia University becoming the latest target.
On Wednesday afternoon, Jewish faculty member Elizabeth Midlarsky found her office walls painted with swastikas and anti-Semitic slurs.
“I walked in the door of my office and found myself staring at a swastika and was absolutely shocked,” Midlarsky told the NY Daily News. “I could see why someone was really angry, because I had taken a lot of public positions.”
For Midlarsky, this wasn’t the first time she was made the target. In 2007, swastikas were found painted on her office door.
The university has strongly denounced the incident and said the aim was to “create fear and to intimidate” the community members.
“We unequivocally condemn any expression of hatred, which has no place in our society. We are outraged and horrified by this act of aggression and use of this vile anti-Semitic symbol against a valued member of our community,” the university said in a statement.
“In light of last month’s horrific shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, and this hateful act closer to home, Jewish students and others in our community may be feeling especially vulnerable right now.”
The university is presently investigating the incident with the local police.
In a similar incident last week, East Campus Bridge at Duke University was founded painted with a Nazi symbol over a Star of David, which was meant honor the 11 people killed in the Pittsburgh shooting.
The university in response to the incident increased the security at the Freeman Center for Jewish Life and installed surveillance cameras around the East Campus Bridge.
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