The University of Denver said Tuesday there have been three acts of antisemitism on campus in the past week including vandalism in residential halls.
On Thursday, a resident at Johnson-McFarlane Hall said their door was vandalized. Two people that live in Nagel Hall reported on Monday evening that their doors had been vandalized and that religious items had been removed, DU said.
Three students had their mezuzot torn from their doors, and one student had pork products glued to their door as well, according to an Instagram post from the DU Hillel and Daniel Bennett, executive director of Hillel of Colorado.
Placing a mezuzah on doorways is a Jewish tradition in which one puts prayers in the home under directions laid out in the Torah. Pork is considered an unholy food within Judaism.
NGO StopAntisemitism took to Twitter to denounce the antisemitic hate crime.
We are sickened to learn what happened at the University of Denver:
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) February 15, 2023
- 2 mezuzahs ripped down (1 scroll ripped & dumped in stairwell, the other has yet to be found)
- pork was left outside a Jewish student's door as well as rubbed onto the door (glue was also poured on the door) pic.twitter.com/yKS2zSXXUK
The school's leadership released a statement denouncing what had happened:
"We're writing to share with you a note that was shared with our student body last night regarding a number of antisemitic incidents that have occurred at DU in the last several days. We stand together in deploring these acts and in committing ourselves to promoting a warm, welcoming campus in which all community members can thrive."
The statement was signed by Provost Mary Clark; Jeff Banks, vice chancellor for Human Resources and Inclusive Community, and Chris Whitt, vice chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
There were eight reports of antisemitic harassment at Colorado schools and Hillels' in 2022, including one mass shooting threat at the University of Colorado.