Swastikas (illustration)
Swastikas (illustration)Flash 90

One of the heads of a Jewish center on the campus of Virginia Tech University (VT) called the scattering of more than 100 hand-drawn swastika leaflets in front of his building on Saturday a “disgusting act of hatred, ” according to a report by Algemeiner.

The co-director of VT’s Chabad Librescu Jewish Student Center, Rabbi Zvi Yaakov Zweibel, said that he was shocked to discover that the fliers had been strewn across the front yard “as we celebrated the Jewish Sabbath.”

Zweibel, promptly organized a solidarity rally for Monday afternoon — attended by university officials, campus police and students — “to fight hatred by increasing our efforts in spreading Jewish pride and the beauty of our heritage.” Zwiebel said this was the first such incident since the Chabad center opened at the campus eight years ago.

Responding to the VT’s Jewish Student Union call on social media followers to offer support to Jews on campus, the school’s president, Timothy Sands tweeted that" the propagators of hate may be among us, but they are not welcome in our community." His post linked to a February statement by Sands asserting that “hate and bias incidents will not be tolerated” at VT.

The fliers at VT are the latest in a wave of similar anti-Semitic incidents on campuses across North America.

Just last week, fliers calling to “end Jewish privilege” were distributed at the University of Illinois at Chicago. A day later, leaflets denying the Holocaust and equating Zionism with Nazism were found on campus.