Twenty-three anti-Semitism watchdog groups from across the country have signed a letter to the president of Northwestern University expressing their concerns for Jewish students on campus after anti-Semitic graffiti was discovered on campus last week.
The letter to university President Morton Schapiro outlined steps it encouraged campus officials to take “to deter future acts of anti-Jewish bigotry and demonstrate unequivocally your commitment to protecting Jewish students and all students on your campus.”
The groups asked that the university “swiftly, forcefully and publicly acknowledge that swastika graffiti is an act of anti-Semitism and will not be tolerated on campus.”
The letter also asks that the school publicly commit to educating its staff, including campus police, in identifying anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic hate crimes. It goes on to ask that Northwestern formally adopt the U.S. State Department’s definition of anti-Semitism “to fully and accurately identify all future acts of hate toward Jews,” and to allocate resources to educate students about anti-Jewish discrimination.
“Taking these steps will show your students, their parents, alumni and the larger community that Northwestern University stands firmly against bigotry and hatred, including anti-Semitism, and will protect all members of the campus community,” the letter said.
lRelated Northwestern cops continue to probe racist graffiti
University police last week found a swastika drawn in pencil in a library study room and a Star of David drawn in ink on the walls of another library study room. Authorities said they believed the Star of David image might have originally been drawn as a swastika. Disparaging remarks toward African-Americans, which were found in two other places in the library, were also removed, university officials said.
The incidents prompted Schapiro to issue a campuswide email alert, said university officials.
“The investigation by university police has determined there is no immediate danger to any specific individual or to the larger campus community,” Schapiro said in the email. “However, these acts are offensive to the entire Northwestern community and will not be tolerated.
“Northwestern seeks to provide a safe and welcoming environment for students, faculty and staff of all races and religious beliefs,” the email continued. “That is one of our guiding principles and something we work hard on every single day.”
In the letter sent to Schapiro on Tuesday, the group said it was pleased that the president issued a statement on the hate graffiti but added: “We are concerned that your message neglected to publicly acknowledge that a swastika is an anti-Semitic symbol associated with genocide perpetrated against the Jewish people, and that although it affects the entire campus community, it particularly targets NU’s Jewish members for hatred and discrimination.”
Alan Cubbage, vice president for university relations, confirmed officials received the letter and said they will thoughtfully consider the groups’ suggestions.
Tammi Rossman-Benjamin of the AMCHA Initiative, one of the groups that signed the letter, said the concern was that the university’s response didn’t identify the swastika as an anti-Semitic symbol.
“Even though it’s true that they affect and impact in a very negative way the entire campus, they are particularly hurtful to Jewish students on the campus and make them feel at times unsafe,” said Rossman-Benjamin, adding that the AMCHA Initiative investigates and combats campus anti-Semitism. “We wanted acknowledgment of both those things.”
She said the organization has a “swastika tracker” on its website that shows dozens of similar incidents on campuses across the country.
“We really want there to be a real clear set of best practices for how university presidents and chancellors should respond to ant-Semitic incidents,” she said.
According to the letter, campus anti-Semitism is a serious and growing problem. It went on to say that a recent study published by Trinity College and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law revealed that 54 percent of Jewish American college and university students report experiencing or witnessing anti-Semitism on campus in the recent school year.
In the last year, more than 18 college and university campuses around the country have been defaced with swastikas, in each case causing particular distress to Jewish students, the letter said. It also said there have also been multiple reports of anti-Semitic name-calling, threats, assaults, and other acts of hate and discrimination and that they are often linked to anti-Israel activity on campus, particularly boycott, divestment and sanction campaigns, such as the one leading up to the recent anti-Israel divestment vote in the NU student government.
Other groups that signed the letter were the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity; the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists; Americans for Peace and Tolerance; BEAR: Bias Education, Advocacy & Resources; the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law; the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America; the Endowment for Middle East Truth; Hasbarah Fellowships; the Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel; the Iranian American Jewish Federation; the Israeli-American Council; the National Conference on Jewish Affairs; the Middle East Political and Information Network; Proclaiming Justice to the Nations; Scholars for Peace in the Middle East; the Simon Wiesenthal Center; StandWithUs; Students and Parents Against Campus Anti-Semitism; The Israel Group; The Lawfare Project; the Training and Education About the Middle East; and the Zionist Organization of America.