Incidents of anti-Semitism at area campuses spark outpouring of support

March brought national attention to two Rhode Island college campuses for a spate of anti-Semitic incidents.

In the early morning hours on March 18, vandals scrawled graffiti described by Brown RISD Hillel as “hateful, threatening, blatantly anti-Semitic and homophobic” on the interior walls of a predominantly Jewish and LGBTQ residence hall at Brown. This was followed by a petition circulated by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) to uninvite transgender icon Janet Mock from speaking at an event that was partially sponsored by Hillel. 

Both Brown and the University of Rhode Island were among universities nationwide whose printing networks and fax machines were hacked and began spewing forth anti-Semitic messages March 24.

The specific content of the graffiti and the printed hate statements were not publicized to avoid giving more exposure to the negative messages. 

In the case of the graffiti, Brown RISD Hillel issued a statement noting that those targeted have received an outpouring of support and that the graffiti elicited many statements of condemnation, including from Brown President Christina Paxson and the Brown Muslim Students Association’s Executive Board. 

“Quite simply, there is no place for acts like this one on the Brown University campus,” Paxson wrote. “I hope that it will only lead to a more urgent and forceful cross-campus effort to build a community in which the respect for all individuals and groups is honored and upheld.”

Brown’s Public Safety department launched a criminal investigation, and the school immediately set up a range of support services and protections for students. In addition, Paxson joined many members of the community for Shabbat dinner and services at Hillel following the incident.

“No one should ever have to go through this type of experience. However, we hope that this incident will be as isolated as it was ugly,” the Hillel statement said.

Hillel also condemned “the efforts of a small number of individuals” who denied hundreds of people the opportunity to hear from and interact with Janet Mock, a prominent speaker on LBGTQIA+ issues, solely because Brown RISD Hillel was a principal sponsor of the event.

In a petition posted online, the Students for Justice in Palestine asserted that Mock’s values regarding transgender issues are in line with Israel’s “pinkwashing” strategy:  SJP claims Israel embraces the LGBT community to deflect attention from its mistreatment of Palestinians. 

The petition further asserted that any sponsorship from Hillel should be regarded as immoral since Hillel supports Israel, whose government, SJP stated, supports “ethnic cleansing … of native Palestinians” and “anti-African violence,” among other things. 

While the petition was eventually taken down from the website where it was posted, the damage had been done: Mock, a TV host, best-selling author and advocate for trans women, canceled her appearance.

Her representatives stated, “We feel the focus of Janet’s work was lost leading up to the proposed event, and her visit was received with controversy and resistance rather than open dialogue and discussion ….”  

Moral Voices, a student-led group run through Brown RISD Hillel, had extended the invitation to Mock to speak. The group responded to the petition by saying, “There is no place on a college campus for this type of prejudice. Brown RISD Hillel has no less right than does any other student organization to bring speakers to campus.”

Hillel said in its statement that it “deeply appreciates the support we have received from the community.”

“Rather than divide us, those who sought to silence or stigmatize us have instead strengthened our resolve to work together.”