A man has been arrested and charged in the case of an act of antisemitism in Bloomington after he desecrated a mezuzah off the front porches of several town residents.
A Mezuzah is a decorative case that contains a Hebrew verse from the Torah and is usually placed in the door frame of a Jewish home.
Bloomington police say Jeremy Chung Ho Park Patzelt - who appears to be a graduate student at Indiana University - stole a Mezuzah off the front door of a home over the weekend and then proceed to burn it. This isn’t the only time this has happened, says Alvin Rosenfeld, a professor of Jewish studies at Indiana University.
The watchdog group StopAntisemitism tweeted out a similar incident occurred with students’ Mezuzah earlier this month.
In b/w Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur, students at Indiana University had their mezuzah ripped off their door frame & set on fire.
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) October 12, 2022
Bloomington PD arrested the individual yet refuse to release footage of the vandalism, his/her identity, and whether a hate crime charge has been filed. pic.twitter.com/aOuHqSN4OW
“Last year continuing into this year, there have been some ugly incidents involving the stripping of Mezuzahs,” he told WISH-TV. Rosenfeld is convinced such acts like what has taken place in Bloomington reflect growing antisemitism throughout the U.S.
Patzelt is scheduled for an initial court hearing in November. Right now he’s not charged with a hate crime, but rather only criminal mischief.
