The two vandals were recorded on CCTV Friday morning breaking off a branch of the large menorah outside the Chabad house and ripping a banner with the faces of students on it.
“They just came by the Chabad House and started tearing out the banner behind us,” SDSU Chabad Rabbi Chalom Boudjnah told CBS8. "They went from one side, grabbed a piece of it, went to the other side and started tearing the banner. If that wasn’t enough, they decided to go and destroy part of the menorah. It's just very, very upsetting; it's frustrating."
The university condemned the vandalism, releasing a statement in support of the Jewish community.
“To members of our Jewish community: Our campus community stands with you and is in opposition to every act of bias and discrimination targeting you – all of which fail to undermine who you are and the many positive contributions you make to our community,” SDSU president Adela de la Torre said in a statement, according to local ABC affiliate KGTV.
The university's Hillel further condemned the incident.
"San Diego State University should be a safe place for Jewish students at all times," the Hillel wrote in an Instagram post. "We will continue to work with the administration, Chabad, [Anti-Defamation League] and other community partners to ensure Jewish students feel seen and heard."
A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help pay for a replacement for the banner and repair the menorah. After only four days, it has already reached almost $5,900 of its $10,000 goal.
This is the second time since April that the Chabad house has been targeted.On April 15, burglars broke into the building and stole sentimental photographs, the Algemeiner reported at the time.One of the culprits bragged about the theft online and posted pictures, but later apologized after they were identified. The items were returned by early May.This is also not the first time SDSU has sparked controversy for antisemitism. In late 2019, the university made headlines for its decision to invite Ava Muhammad, a spokesperson for the Nation of Islam led by alleged antisemite Louis Farrakhan, to speak at a program on the topic of US reparations for slavery. Muhammad had in the past referred to Jews as "godless... blood-sucking parasites [that] sell us alcohol, drugs, depraved sex, and every other type of low-life thing."Following backlash, however, the university revised their speakers list and did not include Muhammad.
According to San Diego's ADL, the State of California ranks third nationwide for the number of antisemitic incidents, which have been rising across the US.