Hillel at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst was spray-painted in red with the word “Palestine” in Arabic, announced Hillel on Tuesday.
Officials at the Jewish organization on college campuses said it is in communication with the Amherst Police Department.
“This cowardly act of hatred towards the Jewish community amidst a time of global crisis and on Yom Hashoah, the Holocaust Remembrance Day, is reprehensible,” posted UMass Amherst Hillel on Facebook.
It continued, “Our UMass Jewish community is resilient and strong, and in the face of this hate we will only deepen our commitment to empowering students to build vibrant community based on values of love, respect, justice and peace.”
The campus wing of the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) immediately reacted to the graffiti.
“We are appalled to see such vandalism on UMass Amherst’s campus, especially on Yom Hashoah, when Jews around the world remember the 6,000,000 Jewish victims of Nazi Germany’s genocide,” said Aviva Rosenschein, international campus director for CAMERA in a statement posted on Facebook by CAMERA on Campus. “The vandal’s choice to target a Jewish communal space with political messaging highlights a common pattern displayed by many anti-Semites: holding American Jews accountable for a conflict happening on the other side of the world.”
“Attempts to intimidate Jews for such a reason are entirely unacceptable. Our thoughts are with the UMass Jewish community during this time, and we are here to assist UMass Hillel in any way we can.”
