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Swastikas and Bomb Threats Plague Hawaii Synagogue and Jewish Owned Business

The state Attorney General’s Office and the FBI will investigate an email claiming that explosives had been placed in Jewish synagogues across Hawaii, Gov. Josh Green said.

Temple Emanu-El in Nuuanu contacted the Honolulu Police Department and the FBI after staff members received the email on Saturday, according to Deborah Zysman, vice president of the board of trustees. 

“HPD came and did a walk-through of the facility to see if there was any kind of explosives and they did not find anything,” she said. “It was unfortunately some threatening emails, but it does not appear that it was anything more than that,” she said. “It unfortunately shows that Hawaii is not immune from the rise in antisemitism that we have seen around the world. But we are also very confident that it does not reflect the views of our larger community.”

She noted it was unclear who sent the email and if it may have been from outside Hawaii.

The email came through on the same day that a swastika and Star of David were spray painted on Leonard’s Bakery’s flagship store on Kapahulu Bakery in Waikiki. On Saturday morning, a worker was spraying bleach and trying to power wash it off the building. The bakery’s manager couldn’t be reached for comment.

Zysman said the synagogue has already increased security over the past several years and didn’t plan to cancel any events since HPD had cleared the facility. “We will proceed as normal,” she said.

It said the explosives were well-hidden and would go off in a few hours, adding the recipients would die and deserved to suffer. 

It didn’t give other details, but there has been an increase in threats and antisemitic rhetoric nationwide since the Israel-Hamas war started on Oct. 7.

Other people and institutions on the list didn’t respond to emails seeking comment.

Mayor Rick Blangiardi said the temple’s rabbi had contacted his office about the threat and the police had determined there were no explosives at Temple Emanu-­El but asked for a greater police presence during upcoming events. 

Green said such threats won’t be tolerated. “I’ve instructed our Attorney General and the FBI to look into these threats, and they have enlisted our local law enforcement as well,” he said in a brief statement. “My administration won’t tolerate threats or hate speech in our state against anyone, and anyone who makes such threats and behaves in this way will be prosecuted fully and likely go to jail.”

Antisemitic Rhetoric and Swastikas Found at New York Middle School

Images of swastikas and racial slurs were discovered in a Mahopac Middle School bathroom on Wednesday.

"It makes me sad. I feel it's hurtful to our children," said Mahopac Middle School parent, Karen Nystrom. "We as parents should all tell our children to respect each other, be friends with each other, and if you see something, tell your teachers, tell your parents, and report it."

The images and language have since been removed and the school has promised additional monitoring of the bathrooms.

The Mahopac Central School District said in a statement, "Images of swastikas and racial slurs were discovered in a bathroom at Mahopac Middle School this week. The district is continuing to work with local law enforcement to investigate this incident. The Mahopac Central School District condemns all forms of discrimination. We will continue to stress, in all aspects of our curriculum, the need for our students to respect all people and to understand the power such symbols and words hold. Our students must be mindful that words and imagery can hurt others, including those who live right here in our community."

This is not the first antisemitic incident in Putnam County schools during the 2023 fall and winter semesters.

Back in early October, a swastika was found carved into the leg of a table at Carmel High School. Not long before that, a swastika and the words "Adolf Hitler" were found written on the school's tennis courts.

Right near Mahopac Middle School is the hamlet's only synagogue, Temple Beth Shalom. Rabbi Sarah Freidson said such incidents are detrimental, but the community's support is helpful.

"I would say that dealing with antisemitism is always a challenge, it's disheartening, and we know that we have so many more allies than those who would do harm," she said.

In light of the recent events, Freidson is asking Mahopac residents to support the Jewish community.

"Be vocal about your values, to be vocal in support of the Jewish community, and all minorities, and this is the season where we add light, and may we all have light and hope in the future," she said.

The student or students involved in the Mahopac incident have yet to be identified. The school and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office are investigating. They're asking anyone with information to reach out to the Sheriff’s Office via their online tip line.

Nazi Symbols Found at Ithaca College on First Night of Hanukkah

A swastika was found drawn into the snow outside of Terrace Dining Hall — the location of the Kosher Kitchen at Ithaca College — on Dec. 7, which was the first night of Hanukkah. 

President La Jerne Cornish notified the campus community of the incident in an email on the afternoon of Dec. 8. In the email, she said Muslim, Arab and Palestinian students have also experienced multiple bias incidents recently but did not provide further information.

“We absolutely denounce this ignorant and hateful act of antisemitism,” Cornish said. “Acts of hatred have no place on our campus, and we must join together to condemn them and reaffirm that Ithaca College must remain a safe space for every member of our community.”

Cornish said the Hanukkah Shabbat Celebrations with Hillel will still take place the evening of Dec. 8 as planned. Campus Public Safety officers will be at and nearby Muller Chapel throughout the holidays. 

“The shining lights of Hanukkah will not be diminished or darkened, and we want everyone celebrating to feel safe and secure,” Cornish said in the email. “We also promise an investigation that seeks justice and accountability.”

In 2022, eight swastikas were found on Ithaca College’s campus. The last swastika reported was created around Nov. 4, 2022. The college never found those responsible for the series of swastikas. 

Cornish said she is currently away from campus traveling and could not attend the celebrations on campus for the first night of Hanukkah. However, she said she will be at the lighting Dec. 12. Melanie Stein, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, will be at the lighting Dec. 8. 

Gunfire Erupts as Gunman Shouts 'Free Palestine' in Shocking Attack on New York Synagogue

A man was arrested Thursday afternoon after he fired off a shotgun in the parking area of an Albany, New York, synagogue, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.

The FBI identified the suspect in Thursday's incident as Mufid Fawaz Alkhader, who is being charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

StopAntisemitism, the leading Jewish watchdog organization exposing antisemitism across America shared the mugshot of Alkhader to Twitter:

Alkhader was due in U.S. District Court in Albany on Friday.

No one was injured during the incident at the Temple Israel around 2:27 p.m. and the suspect was quickly arrested the governor said.

Alkhader, 28, allegedly waived his Miranda rights and told authorities the events in the Middle East had affected him and he regularly uses marijuana, according to a criminal complaint released Friday.

Alkhader, who was born in Iraq but is now a U.S. citizen, fired two rounds from a Kel-Tec KS7 12-gauge shotgun into the air, the complaint said.

"As we've talked about before, after the Oct. 7 attacks I've ordered our state police as well National Guard to be on high alert," Hochul told reporters at a news conference Thursday.

The suspect allegedly made "threatening statements," during the incident, Hochul said. The suspect, who has a criminal history, is pending an arraignment, according to the governor.

"Thanks to the swift coordination between the ATF, FBI, and our partners at Albany Police Department and New York State Police, Mufid Fawaz Alkhader has been arrested and charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. More information will be provided by the United States Attorney's Office following an initial appearance scheduled for tomorrow at U.S. District Court in Albany," said the FBI in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

An early childhood center located on the premises was forced to lockdown but parents were later able to pick up their kids, according to the governor.

Hochul said she spoke with Rabbi Wendy Love Anderson and reassured her that her congregation would be kept safe. The governor said there is no other ongoing threat.

Albany police officers gather outside Temple Israel, on Dec. 7, 2023, in Albany, N.Y.

"And I remind everyone, as New Yorkers this is not who we are. This must stop. We reject hate, anti- Semitism [and] Islamophobia. All hate crimes must stop, and all violence in every form must cease," she said.

The governor noted that the temple previously was the target of a bomb threat in September. Hochul noted that the incident also came at a sensitive time for the Jewish community as it was the first night of Hanukkah.

During the news conference, Eva Wyner, the deputy director of Jewish Affairs for the New York State Executive Chamber, lit the first candle of the menorah.

"We cannot be intimidated. We cannot be threatened in holding these traditions," she said.

Meanwhile, Hochul has put authorities on high alert for potential attacks and disruptions during Hanukkah.

“I am immediately directing the New York State Police and New York National Guard to be on high alert and increase the existing patrols of at-risk sites we had planned for the Hanukkah holiday, including at synagogues, yeshivas and community centers, and working closely with local law enforcement," Hochul said in a press release announcing her actions.

Wisconsin Police Arrest Suspect for Assaulting Jewish Students with Rocks During Vigil for Hostages

A warrant was sought Thursday for a Deerfield man who was charged with disorderly conduct as a hate crime after police said they believe he is one of two men suspected of dropping rocks on people who had taken part in a vigil in support of Israel last month.

Police reviewed Madison and UW street camera footage and saw someone they believe to be Ethan W. Hanson, 21, with another man on the roof of the building that houses Starbucks, 661 State St., according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday in Dane County Circuit Court.

The complaint states that four women were walking from a vigil on Library Mall around 7:15 p.m. on Nov. 7 and were in the 600 block of State Street when one of them felt something hit her. The group, some of whom had Israeli flags draped over them, stopped and looked up and saw what appeared to be someone sitting on the roof of a nearby building.

One of the women told police that when she looked up, confused, a person on the roof yelled, “It’s because you’re wearing an Israeli flag, you (expletive) fascists.”

Another in the group said she heard the person say, “Free Palestine,” the complaint states.

Disorderly conduct is normally a misdemeanor carrying up to 90 days in jail but as a hate crime, the penalty is increased.

Court Commissioner Jason Hanson declined to sign an arrest warrant Thursday afternoon because the criminal complaint had stated the incorrect penalty for the hate crime. He asked prosecutors to issue a corrected complaint.

The vigil took place about a month after the terrorist group Hamas had killed around 1,200 people in Israel and took 240 hostages. Since then, at least 17,177 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. In recent weeks the war was paused to allow for the release of some hostages by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners by Israel.

According to the complaint:

One of the women told police she and her friends were shocked this had happened and that it had made her feel “very small.” She said she had experienced antisemitism in the past, but this was the first time there was a physical threat. Another in the group said all four are Jewish UW-Madison students.

A review of camera footage by police found that two people had been on the roof of Starbucks when the four women were walking east on State Street. Two sets of legs could be seen dangling over the side of the building, one of them in lighter-colored jeans.

The four women could be seen walking by Starbucks when they stopped and looked up. Two of them were wearing Israeli flags.

The complaint states, without elaboration, that Detective Gracia Rodriguez “tracked down the subjects who had been on the roof.” They were described as men in their 20s. One had a distinct mohawk and was wearing a dark jacket, light-colored jeans and black shoes. The other had dark, curly hair and was wearing glasses, a dark trench coat, jeans and black shoes.

Again without elaboration, the complaint states Rodriguez obtained video from a UW-Madison police detective showing what was said to be the police contact that was described, and that the person involved was the one with the mohawk, identified as Hanson. It is unclear to what police contact the passage refers.

The complaint also states police had contact with Hanson earlier in the day, on a different Downtown rooftop.

Around 2:10 p.m., Officer Nikki Acker was sent to check property in the 500 block of North Lake Street, where a man was reported “hanging over the roof.”

When Acker arrived, she found a man, identified as Hanson, sitting on the roof. Asked what he was doing, he said, “eating banana bread.” He said he had climbed up there and was not intending to hurt himself, he just wanted to climb up there.

The complaint states Acker asked him several times if he lived there, but each time he replied, “Maybe I do, maybe I don’t.” He agreed to come down off the roof.

Minnesota Reports Dozens of Schools and Numerous Jewish Centers Victims of Swatting

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is responding to multiple swatting incidents at schools and Jewish facilities across the state.

At least 25 schools and nine Jewish facilities in Minnesota reported receiving emailed bombing and shooting threats as of 3:45 p.m. Wednesday.

The BCA said the language used in the messages were almost identical.

The BCA provided this statement about facilities and areas impacted:

“What we can provide at this point is a list of jurisdictions. Public schools and Jewish facilities in the following Minnesota jurisdictions reported receiving this email threat: Aitkin, Anoka, Bemidji, Brainerd, Champlin, Circle Pines, Columbia Heights, Crosby, Detroit Lakes, Duluth, Frazee-Vergas, Fridley, Mendota Heights, Minneapolis, Minnetonka, Rochester, Spring Lake Park, St. Francis and Anoka County”

Local law enforcement agencies are responding to the incidents but none have turned out to be real.

The BCA defines swatting as “making a prank threat in an attempt to bring a large law enforcement response to a particular address.”

Authorities say the individual and address identified in the threats have no known involvement in the swatting incidents.

The Minnesota Fusion Center at the BCA is tracking reports and keeping local law enforcement informed in the process. No other states are reporting similar widespread swatting attempts today.

Jewish After-School Center in Pennsylvania Vandalized with "Free Palestine" Graffiti

A Jewish after-school center in Center City Philadelphia was the target of vandalism over the weekend and the director is using it as a learning opportunity.

Vandals spray-painted the message “Free Palestine” on the front window of Makom Community, located at 20th and Sansom streets.

The executive director of Makom, Beverly Socher-Lerner, later covered it up with a message that read “We all deserve Peace & Safety! Happy Chanukah! Let your light shine!"

“For the kids and for our staff to be honest, to come in and hear that there had been graffiti on our building was really surprising because for the kids who come here after school this is a really important safe place,” Socher-Lerner said. “To feel like maybe somebody wanted to indicate that maybe it wasn’t a safe place for them to be, was really distressing.”

Socher-Lerner said they overcame that by centering their values: human dignity and community.

She said while the vandalism was a surprise when they came in, through the help of the community they were able to clean off the spray-paint and in its place hang up a sign that made sure when the kids came in they knew it was still that safe place.

“Even though they were surprised when they came in yesterday, by the time they left I think they really felt held by Philadelphia as a city and by Makom as their community,” Socher-Lerner said.

Makom is an enrichment center for children aged 5-12 and Socher-Lerner said these types of issues are things that they are constantly talking about as they come up and discussing ways they can be allies and spread peace.

Following the vandalism over the weekend, Makom posted on social media about the support from the community.

Socher-Lerner said many family members showed up to help paint the sign.

“At the end of the day, kids and families feeling safe is the top priority of our community,” Socher-Lerner said. “For us from a place of Jewish values we want to be really clear that what we have to say is that human dignity is the place where all of this starts.”

Makom Community was vandalized during Sunday night’s Pro-Palestine protests in Center City where hundreds of pro-Palestinian supporters marched through Center City and gathered outside of a Jewish-owned restaurant.

Police have not yet revealed if the vandals were part of the same groups that protested outside of Goldie.

No arrests have been made and police continue to review surveillance footage. If you have any information on the vandalism, please call or text the PPD tipline at 215-686-TIPS (8477).

Massachusetts Town Meeting Interrupted by Antisemitic Zoombombing

A local town meeting was interrupted by a hateful outburst on Tuesday when someone reportedly shouted an antisemitic slur, displayed a swastika on their Zoom screen and appeared to give a Nazi salute, according to police who are investigating.

Winthrop town officials are condemning the “Zoombombing” during the Town Council meeting. The unidentified person interrupted the meeting during a discussion about the town’s flag flying policy.

The Jewish advocacy group StopAntisemitism has been tracking the activities of those responsible - the Goyim Defense League’ or ‘GDL’ for nearly five years and state they vilify Jews with their premeditated hate campaigns.

The individual reportedly used an ethnic slur that’s described by the American Jewish Committee as being used by white supremacists to denigrate Jewish people. The hateful outburst is now the subject of a police investigation.

“During a civic discussion on the flying of flags on town property, an individual seized the meeting to use it as a platform for hate speech and to display symbols of hate, intimidation and nazism,” said Town Council President James Letterie.

“We condemn this act and all acts of hatred in or around our community, and we will always call out and condemn hatred in all its forms,” the council president added. “There is no place for it here in Winthrop.”

Antisemitic incidents have been rising across the country in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel.

The town of Winthrop said it’s actively reviewing its public meeting videoconferencing procedures and policies following the Zoom incident.

Over 70 Antisemitic Posters Discovered on Campus in Canada

The University of Manitoba says it will not tolerate "hateful propaganda," after upwards of 70 antisemitic posters were discovered in several buildings on its Fort Garry campus in south Winnipeg on Monday.

The messages on the posters contained antisemitic language and defamatory statements against the late Israel Asper, the U of M stated on its website on Tuesday.

The posters were removed and the university continues "to patrol campus to support a safe environment," the statement said. It also said the Winnipeg Police Service was being asked to investigate.

The university said it "calls out racism and antisemitism in all its forms and does not tolerate the distribution of hateful propaganda" on its campuses.

In an emailed statement Wednesday, U of M spokesperson Eleanor Coopsammy told CBC the posters were "clearly directed at a particular community and served to create a hostile, humiliating, or offensive environment for Jewish students and employees."

The university put out a public statement regarding the incident this week due to the number of posters found and attention they generated on social media, said Coopsammy.

Security was first notified about the posters by students, she said. They were displayed and left in areas around Drake Centre, which is home to the university's I.H. Asper School of Business, and across the Fort Garry campus.

Israel (Izzy) Asper, who died in 2003, was the founder of the Winnipeg-based CanWest Global Communications media empire and the driving force behind the Canadian Museum for Human Rights being built in Winnipeg. He helped establish the Asper Centre for Entrepreneurship at the University of Manitoba, and its faculty of business was renamed the I.H. Asper School of Business in his honour.

"We are deeply proud to have our business school named in honour of alum Israel Asper … and truly grateful for our decades-long relationship with the Asper family and the Asper Foundation," the U of M's Tuesday statement on its website said.

Winnipeg police confirmed to CBC that they are aware of the posters and are investigating. 

The matter has been assigned to the major crime unit's hate crime co-ordinators, but no other information is available at this point, Const. Claude Chancy said in an email.

Washington Public Zoom Meeting Interrupted by Antisemitic Attendees

Several people made antisemitic comments Monday during the public comment portion of the Anacortes City Council meeting.

The comments were made by people attending the meeting through Zoom.

The comments included racial slurs, neo-Nazi talking points and antisemitic conspiracy theories.

According to multiple councilmembers who spoke with the Anacortes American on Tuesday, members of council and mayor were unaware of the comments as they were delivered via Zoom, and the comments could only be heard by those participating in the council meeting through Zoom.

The saboteurs were then able to use deception to take advantage of a vulnerability in Zoom to unmute themselves and speak at will, according to councilmembers.

Councilmember Christine Cleland-McGrath told the American that there have been issues throughout the country in which vulnerabilities in Zoom have allowed “trolls” to sabotage meetings with hate speech and similar rhetoric.

In total, the ordeal lasted for roughly 10 minutes of the council’s 1-hour, 37-minute meeting. At no point during the meeting did the mayor or council address the comments.

“I was surprised, but I mean, then again, people have First Amendment rights to say what they want,” Councilmember Jeremy Carter said.

“I don’t stand for hate speech, but at the same time, people have the right to say what they want to say.”

Carter told the American he imagines a condemnation, specifically from the mayor, may come at the next council meeting.

Cleland-McGrath expressed shock at what took place, calling it “absolutely awful.”

She said she wasn’t aware of what was going on.

“I wasn’t quite aware of what was going on for the first bit until we started hearing kind of what the subject matter was, and then it becomes a challenge, it becomes navigating the freedom of speech when it comes to public meetings and balancing that with hate speech. That was definitely hate speech,” she said.

Cleland-McGrath also spoke as to why the speech was not acknowledged or condemned by council at the meeting.

“The policy has always been that we don’t respond to public comment in the moment,” Cleland-McGrath said.

Councilmember Anthony Young, who was not at the meeting, spoke with the American on Tuesday about the public comment period.

He said that the antisemitic public commenters’ opportunity should have been cut off by the city.

“I think they should, I mean because at the end of the day ... the rules of decorum and the rules of speech and free speech is allowed, but it’s within the rules of decorum,” Young said.

“ ... Anything about public policy, that’s one thing. It’s a whole other thing when you’re talking racist, racism, hate. Any of those things that incites violence is not free speech. I don’t believe that’s free speech. I believe they should be cut off.”

City Attorney Darcy Swetnam told the American that public comment periods are an open opportunity for the public to provide comment on any topic.

“We obviously don’t prescreen what people say at public comment periods,” Swetnam said.

She told the American public comment is a limited forum protected under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.

In a news release Wednesday from the city of Anacortes, the city said it condemns the individuals involved and any associated group or organization for the harm caused by their speech.

“Of the words I heard, they were incredibly gross, obscene, nonsensical, hateful, false, antisemitic,” Mayor Matt Miller said in the release. “They were terrible. And the law protects much of that speech.”

The release stated the City Council will review public comment policies to determine how to best respond to disruptions and address hate speech within the requirements of the U.S. Constitution and the Open Public Meetings Act.

Union College Under Federal Investigation for Neglecting Antisemitic Concerns on Campus

Union College is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education over alleged incidents of antisemitism. The education department’s Office of Civil Rights opened an investigation Tuesday over claims of discrimination toward Jewish students.

The OCR is investigating if Union has violated Title VI, which require schools that receive federal financial assistance to address discrimination. Union said it is aware of the investigation.

The college told NEWS10 that an “unnamed complainant alleges that Union College failed to respond appropriately to incidents of harassment in October and November 2023.” Union officials said the college is cooperating fully with the investigation, and it is confident with how they have responded to the alleged incidents.

An investigation does not mean a final decision has been made by the OCR. Schools that are found to have failed to address issues of discrimination can lose federal funding or be referred to the Department of Justice.

Anti-Jewish 'Goyim Defense League' Propaganda Litters Montana Town

Walter Rowntree thought it was a piece of trash at first glance.

The Kalispell resident grabbed the plastic bag, weighted with rice and containing a folded piece of paper, from his front walk on the morning of Sunday, Nov. 26, and glanced around. When he spotted the same package in the front yards of several of his neighbors, he took it inside.

“I opened it up, of course this was over breakfast, and I was rather horrified,” Rowntree said of the flyer, which draws on an antisemitic conspiracy theory about the media.

The leaflet also featured several images of corporate CEOs, all with foreheads emblazoned with the Star of David. Rowntree described the manipulated images as “tainted with evil” and “just toxically wicked.”

“It’s clearly antisemitic and rather severely tribal. And I felt like it was done aggressively,” said Rowntree, who reported it to a community group aimed at fighting discrimination in the Flathead Valley. 

“Some people go for a walk in the park, take pictures of wildlife, play games with their family, have a baking project and I guess other people think it’s a fun way to spend your day off to toss hate literature in random neighborhoods,” Rowntree said.

Kalispell Police Chief Jordan Venezio said investigators began looking to see if the flyers were connected to criminal activity after fielding reports about the leaflets. The department also received word of antisemitic stickers plastered onto gas pumps around town, he said. 

“When we get these reports, we need to find out if there is any link to a crime,” Venezio said. “At this point, there are no crimes reported, property damage or violence reported.”

Rabbi Shneur Wolf of the Chabad of the Flathead Valley said he is aware of the leaflets, but had not heard any reports of members of the region’s Jewish community receiving them. It’s the first time in Wolf’s five years in the valley that antisemitic literature has been distributed to his knowledge, he said. 

The Jewish community plans to hold several menorah lightings in Kalispell and one at Depot Park in Whitefish at 4:30 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 10, Wolf said.

“We show the world we are all about positivity and adding in that kindness, in that light, and bringing a brighter future to our world,” he said. “We are going to stand strong; we are not going to be intimidated. This is just going to push for us to do more in adding goodness in our community.”

Pro-Israel Yard Sign in Massachusetts Neighborhood Defaced with Antisemitic Rhetoric

Swampscott police are condemning and investigating what they said was a hate incident involving a "We Stand With Israel" sign found defaced with antisemitic graffiti on Paradise Road Tuesday morning.

Police said the resident who owned the property found the sign vandalized on Tuesday morning in the area of the street near the water tower and that it is believed the defacing happened either Monday night or early Tuesday.

"As we actively investigate this incident, we will continue to focus on the safety and security of all in Swampscott," police said. "We join with the community to unequivocally condemn this act of hate."

Police ask that anyone in the area who owns a security camera check the footage from between 4 p.m. on Monday and 8 a.m. on Tuesday for anything that could help police identify who is responsible for the vandalism.

Ohio State University Jewish Fraternity Members Verbally Accosted

Jewish students at OSU woke up to people yelling antisemitic phrases outside their home Sunday morning. Columbus police said the people also threw items at the house.

"It’s horrifying, It’s very unsettling," Daniel Brener, an OSU student and president of Alpha Epsilon Pi told ABC 6.

"You always want your fraternity brothers to feel safe, especially in our own house, and especially at school," Brener said. "When you’re being targeted for who you are, it really makes us upset.

Brener said his fraternity brothers saw two suspects, and one was wearing a mask.

"You don’t ever think it can happen to you, but when it does, it almost makes a little bit of sense," he said.

This is the latest example of antisemitism on OSU's campus. In November, two women allegedly vandalized Israeli flags on campus. Hours later, police report two Jewish students were assaulted near campus.

"The fact that it continues to happen is outrageous, and it makes it even more upsetting," Brener said.

"This is designed to intimidate Jewish students to make them afraid not to promote their their Jewish identity, to make them afraid to affiliate or associate with Jewish institutions and organizations," Jon Pierce, spokesperson for the national Alpha Epsilon Pi organization said.

Pierce said the national organization is planning more security and situational awareness training for OSU's members.

"I urge everyone to understand why we speak up and remember what could happen and what will happen if we sit back and just not say anything," Brener said. "We’re gonna stay strong, and we’ll always pull through like we always have."

Brener also encourages those in the Jewish community to remain proud of who they are and stick to their values.

UConn Jewish Students Describe Uptick in Antisemitism on Campus

Ari Gerard, a sophomore at the University of Connecticut, arrived at his seminar three hours early on the morning of the November 8 protest organized by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). He told himself that this would prevent him from seeing and hearing their slogans: “Resistance is not terrorism” or “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

“It didn’t make any difference in the end,” he admits. “They were talking so loudly that I could hear them from inside the amphitheater.”

Opposition to Israel has been rampant on campus since UConn Jewish students held their first candlelight vigil on October 8 in memory of the 1,200 victims and 240 hostages of the Hamas terrorist organization, which runs the Gaza strip.

Initially, the brutality of the October 7 massacre captured the world's attention: entire families were burned alive in their homes, 260 festival-goers were killed in cold blood during a rave and, in addition to sexual assault, terrorists tortured and dismembered numerous victims, including women, children, babies and the elderly. Israel has vowed to oust Hamas from power with an ongoing military offensive.

As the war between Israel and Hamas has intensified, the climate at UConn has become tense. So far, the university has avoided the spotlight on other institutions around the country, donors have not threatened to withdraw their funds, no threats of physical violence have been recorded, and the UConn chapter of SJP still works.

But walking across campus means passing posters depicting men armed with rifles and dressed like Hamas terrorists who say: “Resistance is not terrorism – Victory for Palestine.” This means reading comments on Instagram calling for the eradication of Israel. This includes seeing hostage posters vandalized or chalk messages that say, “Anti-Zionism is not antisemitism.”

“I've had enough of this. Mentally, it's torture. They are constantly outside shouting,” denounces Gerard, a finance student.

Gerard is one of eight Jewish students who took part in a roundtable discussion with the Times of Israel on November 8. Coming from varied backgrounds, with different levels of commitment to Judaism and different views on the war, they testified about what it was like to attend university during a time of unabashed antisemitism. .

This student's testimony corroborates the findings of a recent survey of Jewish students conducted by the national Jewish academic group Hillel International. According to the survey, 56% of Jewish students surveyed say they are afraid on campus, and 25% of them report violence or acts of hatred on their campus since the start of the war.

There are an estimated 2,000 Jewish students out of UConn's 19,000 undergraduate student body, and there are several Jewish organizations on campus, such as Huskies for Israel, Hillel and Chabad. The university's dining service offers kosher meals at no extra charge. Until the war, Jewish organizations coexisted with the UConn chapter of the SJP, which did not respond to requests for comment.

There had indeed been some antisemitic incidents in the past, such as in 2020, when the words “The Third Reich” were written on the door of a student's room, or four incidents in 2021, including one just before Passover, with a swastika sprayed on the Chemistry building.

Still, the general atmosphere was nothing like it is today, says first-year student Julianne Katz.

“It's terrible and very painful to feel that everyone hates you and wishes you were dead. We feel sad all day and very alone. I don’t feel safe at all on this campus,” she explains.

Pro-Hamas Supporter Threatens Jewish Women on Train

The Israel-Hamas War has touched off a wave of antisemitic acts in Canada, including, threats, intimidation, vandalism and violence.

Cities with higher Jewish populations, including Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal, are reporting higher rates of hate crimes following the Oct. 7 attack.

A video captured inside a Vancouver SkyTrain car has emerged on social media, showing a large group of people engaging in pro-Palestinian chants, including “from the river to the sea” and more threatening language including “you f*cking Jew, f*ck you!”

The chant, “From the river to sea,” has been characterized as a genocidal statement that demands the destruction of Israel.

“Palestine is ours from the river to the sea and from the south to the north,” Khaled Mashal, Hamas’s former leader, said in a 2012 speech. “There will be no concession on any inch of the land.”

Canadian Town Refusing to Display Menorah Outside City Hall Despite Tradition

Moncton’s Jewish community is voicing their discontent with the city’s mayor after they were told a menorah will not be displayed outside city hall during Hannukah, an annual tradition that’s occurred for the past 20 years.

The Moncton Jewish Community, a group representing about 100 families of Jewish people in the region, released a statement on Friday sharing their grievances with the decision allegedly made by the mayor and city representatives.

“The City of Moncton has informed the Moncton Jewish Community that it will no more set up the Chanukah (Hannukah) Menorah in front of City Hall, a tradition that was started twenty years ago,” the statement read, adding the city cited a 2015 Supreme Court of Canada ruling that banned religious prayers at municipal council meetings as a factor that led to their decision.

“Some members of the Jewish community have met the mayor to explain that this decision is unfair and hurts profoundly the Jewish population of Moncton.”

Global News reached out to Moncton Mayor Dawn Arnold’s office for comment but didn’t receive a response in time for publication.

Leigh Lampert, a lawyer and member of the Moncton synagogue board of directors, who attended the meeting virtually, said he “suspected something was up” when the synagogue contacted the city to make arrangements for the annual Hannukah tradition which has taken place for decades.

“We were invited to a meeting with the mayor and one of the town councillors and a couple representatives from the city, in which a decision was conveyed that this year the Menorah was going to be banned from city hall, as was the nativity scene,” he said during an interview Sunday on the Roy Green Show.

“We asked ‘Why the decision? Why now? And why was the decision taken place behind closed doors?'”

Lampert said he didn’t receive a “satisfactory answer” to any of those three questions, mentioning that he was told it was something that the city was thinking about for “quite some time.”

Despite Lampert noting that city officials said the menorah’s removal was to separate church from state, a Christmas Tree still stands outside Moncton’s city hall while telephone poles along Main Street remain decorated with angel figures.

“We don’t object to any of those being present, we think everyone should have their symbols at this time or any time of the year,” Lampert said.

“But to ban the Menorah and the nativity scene and not the angels or Christmas trees, that is by definition: discrimination.”

The statement from the Moncton Jewish Community group added that the menorah is an important symbol of acceptance for people in the Jewish community. Traditionally, the first candle of the nine-branch menorah is ignited after sundown to initiate the beginning of Hannukah, accompanied by prayer and songs, continuing for the next eight days.

“In a world where antisemitism has been too often present (and continues to grow), this acceptance is important,” the statement said.

“It is unfair because Chanukah is a festival celebrating tolerance and freedom of religion, a value worth sharing with everyone.”

The Moncton Jewish Community group said that it hopes the Moncton City Council will reverse its decision.

Reflecting on the legality of the decision, Lampert said the Supreme Court ruling the city cited as a determining factor in removing the Menorah was largely focused on the concept of prayers being said during council meetings.

“If you read the case, I don’t even believe it supports this decision,” he said.

Hannukah begins at sundown on Thursday.

Star of David Removed from Holiday Display in Maine

A suburb of Portland, Maine, has removed a Star of David from its annual holiday lights display after a local Arab American citizen complained, reportedly calling it “offensive” in light of Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.

But the mayor of Westbrook told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the reason for the star’s removal had more to do with the city’s efforts to follow the US Constitution’s Establishment Clause, which is understood to forbid overtly religious displays on public property. He added that local Jewish groups agreed it should be taken down and that Hanukkah would still be represented for the first time in the city’s holiday display via a series of dreidels.

“I think it was all positive intent to just try and be more inclusive,” Mayor Michael Foley said, adding that, since the story broke in local media, he had been fielding calls from people accusing him of antisemitism. “There’s been no ill intention by it. It was simply an honest mistake and it was never included on our display.”

Foley said the star had been ordered by a city employee without his knowledge. He added, “I still don’t truly understand” why the local Arab group, the New England Arab American Organization, had complained about it.

The Star of David has been widely used by Jewish communities since the 17th century; it has also been used to identify Jews by their adversaries, notably the Nazis. The Star of David is also the centerpiece of the Israeli flag, adopted in October 1948, months after Israel became a country.

“They view it as the city taking a side in the war, we’re supporting one country over another,” Foley said about the group that objected to the symbol. Initial reports that the New England Arab American Organization was behind the complaint itself were mistaken, he said.

In a statement Friday after this article’s initial publication, the group’s board also stated that it was not behind the complaint. “NEAAO stands in solidarity with our Jewish community, Arab community and any other community in recognizing their rights for their religious symbols to be displayed on their private properties and on public properties in accordance to local laws,” the statement read. The board added that the organization is “non-religious and non-political.”

As the debate around Israel and Gaza has remained heated since the October 7 Hamas assault that killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw 240 hostages taken to Gaza and Israel’s ensuing war on the terror group in the Strip, even public displays have not been immune to the war.

Earlier this week the University of Texas in Dallas removed “spirit rocks” that had been fixtures on campus for years because, administrators said, students were using them to paint increasingly aggressive messages about Israel, Gaza and the Palestinians.

But the presence (or lack thereof) of Jewish symbols in city holiday displays is a much older issue, one that has been litigated before the US Supreme Court. A 1989 case found that the public display of a Nativity scene in a Pittsburgh courthouse was not permissible because it could be interpreted as the city promoting one religion over another, but that the display of a Chabad-Lubavitch menorah was allowed because the city demonstrated pluralism by pairing it with a Christmas tree.

Foley had been hoping to find a similar pluralistic spirit in Westbrook. For the last few years the city sought to expand its holiday display to include Hanukkah and other celebrations, while avoiding having any explicitly religious symbols on the advice of their legal counsel. “We just tried to stick with colors and snowflakes and snowmen and animals,” he said.

City staff decided on dreidels, he said, because they “seemed like a reasonable compromise with members of the community.” This was to be the first year when the dreidels would join the display (Westbrook, which has a population of around 20,000, does not have any synagogues).

Foley said he didn’t know that a member of the display’s installation team also ordered the Star of David and was unaware that it is seen as a broader religious symbol for Jews beyond Hanukkah.

“As far as I’m concerned, I think the dreidel’s a really appropriate winter holiday symbol in the context of a holiday light display,” Molly Curren Rowles, the director of the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine, told JTA.

Rowles said that her Portland-based group was looped in late on the dispute but now hopes to turn it into an interfaith teaching opportunity. She has reached out to the Arab American group to better understand their objection but hasn’t heard from them yet.

“I think obviously we would be concerned if the Star of David were perceived as an offensive symbol,” she said. While the alliance would “give deference to the Establishment Clause,” she added, “we’re happy to have Stars of David wherever people want to put them up.”

Talks are in the works to add a menorah to the city’s display, while a local church has offered to put the Star of David on its own property — what Foley said is meant as a gesture of solidarity to the Jewish community. But, he said, he will follow local Jewish guidance on whether that would be appropriate.