Ann Arbor Police confirmed that there were antisemitic messages written over a Pride Month painting on the rock, located at the corner of Washtenaw Avenue and Hill Street. A video posted to Instagram by the account “stop_antisemitism” showed the messages, which included statements such as, “F*** Israel” and “Boycott Israel.”
Hey @UMich @DrMarkSchlissel can you imagine how your Jewish students feel seeing this vile, antisemitic vandalism this morning? pic.twitter.com/jFao5K4miJ
— StopAntisemitism.org (@StopAntisemites) June 5, 2021
UM Regent Jordan Acker tweeted about the incident Saturday, June 5.
“I’m disgusted by the hateful and antisemitic graffiti found on the Rock @umich this morning. This vulgar messaging, displacing a pride month painting, is disgraceful. Make no mistake, our campus is not and cannot be a haven for such hatred,” Acker said.
Acker did not comment further on the incident.
Melissa Overton, deputy chief of police and public information officer for UM’s Division of Public Safety and Security, said that Ann Arbor Police would handle the incident since it happened on Ann Arbor city property.
Police did not have any additional details regarding the incident.
UM spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said it was their understanding that the rock had been repainted by Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation staff and UM students. The rock is repainted continuously, sometimes several times in the same day, which is a typical response when someone in the community finds images or language on the rock they find offensive, Fitzgerald said.
“UM denounces all vulgar and hateful messages, both on or near campus. We offer our thanks to those members of the community who stepped up to add more speech by repainting the rock,” Fitzgerald said.
This is now the second time the rock has been painted with antisemitic graffiti targeting the Jewish state (picture below).
