Antisemitism at George Washington U.: Jewish student's door vandalized
A swastika and Hitler mustache were found on the door of a Jewish student's dorm room.
By DEBORAH DAHANUpdated: FEBRUARY 27, 2020 17:03The George Washington University(photo credit: INGFBRUNO / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
The past few years have seen a rise in antisemitism in universities across the United States and, as Jewish students are targeted, many feel unsafe. Earlier this week, Zev Siegfeld, a Jewish student at George Wasington University (GWU) found antisemitic graffiti on his dorm room door, JNS reported.A Swastika and Hitler mustache were drawn on pictures of US President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence that Siegfield hanged on his door.“As a proud and vocal Jew, I know this was not a coincidence. This was another attempt to stop me from expressing my views publicly, and another attempt to intimidate me into being quiet.” Siegfeld wrote in a Facebook post."The goal of these vandals is to intimidate me into being quiet. The goal of these vandals is to make me afraid," he added.George Washington University's Student's Association condemned the incident and called on the University to take action. "The Student Association is disheartened to learn of an incident of antisemitism by members of the GW community. We acknowledge a rising pattern of antisemitism on GW’s campus and other college campuses across America. These actions go directly against the values we hold as a university, and must never be tolerated," said the Association in a statement shared on Facebook."This display of hate and ignorance is blatantly antisemitic and has deeply affected our Jewish community. By desecrating a student’s personal property within a GW residence hall, the attacker(s) continue a pattern of antisemitism on our campus, which instills fear and pain in Jewish students," it added.
GW’s College Democrats and College Republicans also condemned the antisemitic graffiti.“This act of hate is not tolerated by either of our organizations, nor are any anti-Semitic actions or speech,” they said. This is not the first time GWU students witness antisemtism on campus.Last November, a student posted a Snapchat a video filled with antisemitic slurs. The video showed a student being asked “What are we going to do to Israel?”, to which she responded, “We’re going to f***ing bomb Israel bro, [get] the f*** out of here Jewish pieces of s***.”At the time, student organizations at GWU had called the university to adopt a “university-wide accepted definition of antisemitic acts,” in a letter sent to the university's President. They also expressed serious concern about “the persistent, undeterred presence of antisemitism among our community.”
