The dorm room door of a Jewish student at New York University was defaced with antisemitic markings last Tuesday, according to a joint statement from NYU president Linda Mills and Fountain Walker, the university’s vice president for global campus safety.
The student reportedly discovered the hateful graffiti upon returning to his residence later that evening. The markings were quickly removed after being reported.
University officials confirmed that the case is under investigation by Campus Safety, the New York Police Department, and the NYU Civil Rights Title VI Coordinator’s Office.
“The targeting of a Jewish student is inexcusable raw hatred,” Mills and Walker said in their statement. “We are committed to maintaining a community where all feel safe and welcome, and to eliminating antisemitism and other forms of hatred.”
Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, who serves as executive director of the Edgar M. Bronfman Center for Jewish Life, issued a statement assuring that every report of antisemitism is handled carefully and professionally. He also stressed that this recent case is unrelated to a different episode on September 1 involving the removal of a mezuzah from a student’s doorframe.
That earlier incident had initially raised fears of antisemitic intent, but when the individual responsible came forward, returned the mezuzah, and offered an apology, investigators concluded it had not been motivated by anti-Jewish bias.
On September 5, Walker explained that, for privacy reasons, the university could not disclose more details about the matter.
“The account given to Campus Safety and other University officials enables us to confidently conclude that, while problematic judgment was demonstrated, the investigation of the incident as an antisemitic incident should be closed,” Walker said.
{Matzav.com}
