A Mezuzah was torn down at the Hillel House of Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts over the weekend, with campus police opening an investigation to determine who was behind the anti-Semitic act.
According to WCVB, students discovered that the mezuzah had been torn off its doorpost in an alley entranceway on Monday morning as they arrived for prayers at the Hillel House, located in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood.
"Don't know what the intention was of the person, but it's clearly marked as a Jewish student center," Gilad Skolnick, executive director of Northeastern Hillel, told WCVB.
Skolnick added that campus police have surveillance footage from a security camera that he hoped would shed light on the vandalism.
Around 1,500 Jewish students attend Northeastern University. On Wednesday morning, a group of Jewish students held a dedication ceremony for a new Hillel House mezuzah.
"No matter its origin, this despicable act has left members of our Jewish community justifiably upset, saddened and even fearful,” Northeastern University President Joseph E. Aoun said in a statement. “They are experiencing firsthand an instance of senseless hate, coming at a time when the ancient scourge of anti-Semitism is on the rise across the U.S. and around the world.”
Aoun added: “We must respond first with compassion and empathy. We must offer an endless well of support, standing in unity with our Jewish classmates, colleagues and friends."
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) thanked Aoun for his support for Jewish students.
“Thank you President Aoun for your strong condemnation of anti-Semitism at Northeastern after a Mezuzah was ripped from the school's Hillel building. There can be no room for Jew-hatred on American college campuses,” AJC tweeted.
The incident was a repeat of similar mezuzah thefts that have occurred on other college campuses in the past year.
In September, a mezuzah was stolen from the doorpost of a Jewish student’s dorm room at Tufts University in Massachusetts.
During the High Holy Days, four mezuzahs were torn down at Indiana University. One of the victims was a student who had her dorm room’s mezuzah vandalized twice in the span of three days.