Another Swastika Found at Duke University After Various Antisemitic Controversies

A red swastika was found painted on the East Campus Bridge Wednesday around 4:30 p.m and was quickly painted over. The bridge, located near Smith Warehouse on Campus Drive, is the site of murals from Duke students and members of the Durham community. The swastika was found on the forehead of a design of a character from the Adult Swim television show “Rick and Morty.”

"The University unequivocally condemns this cowardly action," wrote Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations, in an email to The Chronicle. "Scrawling a symbol of hate may have been an effort to intimidate the Duke community, but instead it will simply strengthen our resolve to denounce and combat anti-Semitism and bigotry in all its forms." He added that DUPD is handling the investigation.

"The incident is currently under investigation by Duke Police, which will review images from the security cameras that cover the bridge and surrounding public space," he wrote. 

This type of vandalism occurred in Fall 2018, when a swastika was painted over a mural on the East Campus bridge memorializing the Pittsburgh shooting at a synagogue. The swastika defaced a painting of the gold Star of David, symbolizing hope for the Jewish community. 

Two more anti-semitic incidents occurred on campus in Fall 2018. A swastika was found carvedinto a bathroom stall in the Languages building, which was later scratched out. A pumpkin with the symbol carved into it was also found on East Campus, along with sheets of paper strewn throughout campus that said, “It’s okay to be white.” 

Joyce Gordon, director of Jewish Life at Duke, condemned the "disturbing increase in antisemitic acts on campuses around the country" in an email to The Chronicle.

"It's upsetting to see that Duke has been targeted in this way today," she wrote. "Jewish Life at Duke does not stand for this kind of brazen, bigoted, and backwards attack. The Jewish community at Duke is strong, and will continue to be so. I'm thankful for the swift and supportive response from the University, from DUPD and from our many campus partners."   

After those incidents took place, President Vincent Price promised in a November 2018 message to the Duke community that the University would place security cameras at the East Campus Bridge. He also vowed to increase security at the Freeman Center for Jewish Life.

Antisemitic posters were also posted on the East Campus wall and Main Street sidewalk in Spring 2018. The posters depicted imagery of a gun pointed toward a stereotypical representation of a Jewish person.

Philly PD Looking For a Man Who Shouted Antisemitic Threats Inside Kosher Supermarket

Authorities are searching for a man who shouted antisemitic threats inside a kosher market in Northeast Philadelphia, according to sources.  Customers at a busy shopping center off Bustleton Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia were concerned Thursday night over reports of bizarre behavior by a man after he entered a popular kosher market.

Sources say it started when a tractor-trailer driver parked in the lot for an extended period of time. At some point, law enforcement sources say the man got out of the truck, entered the House of Kosher gourmet market and began shouting antisemitic comments.

According to sources, surveillance cameras captured video of the man as he quickly left the store, got into the 18-wheeler and drove off. A witness was able to get a tag number.

The incident raised concerns because it occurred less than two months after a violent ambush at a Jersey City kosher market that left six people dead, including the gunman and a police officer.

Police say security at area synagogues has been increased since the Jersey City market murders. The incident has rekindled concerns in this community as the search for the man in the tractor-trailer continues.

No one was injured in this incident. Philadelphia police refused to comment Thursday as did the manager of the kosher market.

Sources say federal agents and police are trying to locate the tractor-trailer and the driver so they can speak with him about this incident.

Antisemitic Facebook Page 'Rise Up Ocean County' Finally Removed

The page Rise Up Ocean County was supposedly established as a public forum by Toms River, NJ resident and convicted felon Richard Ciullo, to criticize rapid housing growth in Ocean County, N.J. However under Ciullo’s direction, the page was plagued with sickening accusations by Ciullo and his followers blaming Orthodox Jews for the increased housing.

Richard Ciullo, arrest mugshot

Facebook spokesman Daniel Roberts told NBC News, “We have determined this page violates our community standards for hate speech and have removed it from the platform.” Murphy and Grewal said in a joint statement, “We appreciate that Facebook has now decided that this kind of hateful rhetoric has no place on its platform.”

They added, “The Murphy administration will continue to call out hate whenever and wherever we see it, we will persist in demanding meaningful reforms to address the proliferation of hate online, and we will continue working to make New Jersey safe and inclusive for all of our residents.”

The Rise Up Ocean County website posted a statement stating they will appeal Facebook’s decision, arguing the page is public and they remove hateful posts.

“As recent as one month ago, Facebook did remove two posts, both somewhat dated, that moved our page quality from green to red,” the statement read. “Since that time, we have received no further violations of community standards and as such, the decision to unpublish the page is arbitrary and capricious.”