Swastika present in rest room of Historical past Nook

This text accommodates references to antisemitism. 

A swastika was found in one of many first ground bogs of the Historical past Nook on Wednesday, close to the tip of the week-long Jewish vacation Passover. This incident marks the second current act of antisemitic vandalism after a mezuzah was ripped from the doorframe of an undergraduate residence on April 3, in accordance with a Protected Id Hurt Report. 

The swastika was discovered carved right into a white, metallic panel within the Historical past Nook rest room, in accordance with pictures obtained by The Day by day. The swastika has since been painted over by the College. 

The act of antisemitic vandalism comes on the heels of College President Marc Tessier-Lavigne’s look finally week’s Passover Shabbat, held by Hillel. Addressing members of Stanford’s Jewish group on the dinner on April 7, Tessier-Lavigne mentioned, “I wish to make it very clear that we’ll not tolerate antisemitism and the symbols of antisemitism right here on campus. It’s one thing we have to eradicate.”

College spokesperson Dee Mostofi wrote in a press release to The Day by day that the College is “deeply disturbed by the latest antisemitic incident at Historical past Nook.” The College has filed a Protected Id Hurt Report in response to this occasion and has contacted SUDPS. 

The Day by day additionally reached out to the Stanford College Division of Public Security (SUDPS) for remark, which confirmed that SUDPS is investigating the matter.

In an e-mail to The Day by day, Rabbi Jessica Kirschner counseled College management for repeatedly talking out in opposition to antisemitism on campus, but additionally emphasised the necessity for “a transparent plan for assessing and addressing antisemitism on campus,” in addition to persistently together with Jews and different marginalized teams in anti-bias work. 

Kirschner additionally emphasised the energy of Stanford’s Jewish group, particularly within the face of so many antisemitic incidents. 

“We have now a really robust group of Jews and allies on this campus, and aren’t intimidated by this type of motion. From joyful gathering, to deep studying, to non secular resilience and emotional assist, college students have one another…None of us ought to really feel alone,” Kirschner wrote. 

The College’s Jewish group has confronted quite a lot of acts of antisemitism throughout this educational yr. In fall quarter, a mezuzah was ripped off the doorframe of two Jewish graduate college students. Within the winter quarter, there have been a number of cases of antisemitic vandalism. On Feb. 28, swastikas, anti-Black slurs and the phrases “KKK” had been found within the males’s rest room of the Historical past Nook. On March 3, in a distinct rest room in Major Quad, the phrase “KKK” was found on the door surrounded by swastikas. On April 3, one other case of antisemitic vandalism came about in an undergraduate residence, the place a drawing of Hitler and several other swastikas had been discovered outdoors the door of a Jewish scholar. 

One other incident which drew criticism and scrutiny occurred throughout winter quarter, when a photograph circulated of an undergraduate scholar studying “Mein Kampf,” the autobiography of Hitler, along with her eyebrows furrowed, a finger on her chin and an expressive look of contemplation. 

The autumn quarter additionally offered challenges for Jewish college students searching for lodging to watch spiritual celebrations. In October, the College additionally apologized within the fall for limiting enrollment of Jewish college students within the Fifties. 

“The Jewish Scholar Affiliation (JSA) is deeply saddened to listen to of a further antisemitic incident on campus — one among a number of which have occurred over the past a number of weeks,” Kelly Danielpour ’25 wrote in an e-mail to The Day by day. “These recurring incidents reveal that antisemitism at Stanford isn’t an remoted problem however slightly one that’s steady and pervasive.”

Danielpour additionally wrote that she hopes for continued collaboration between varied College stakeholders to “develop insurance policies and packages that meaningfully handle discrimination in the direction of the Jewish group.”

“Each particular person at Stanford, regardless of who we’re, has a task to play in shaping the tradition of our group,” Kirschner wrote in her e-mail. “There’s a variety of darkness on the planet — we will select to be overwhelmed by it, or we will select to mild a candle and push it again…The extra of us there are and the upper we maintain our lights, the higher we are going to all really feel, the more healthy our shared tradition shall be, and the much less area there shall be for the jerks and the creeps to behave this fashion.”