Anti-Semitic graffiti has been found for the third time this semester in a dorm at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts.
The graffiti consisted of a swastika and an anti-Semitic slur written in black ink on the tile in a bathroom.
University president Sonya Stephens confirmed in a Friday statement that the graffiti was the third such incident this fall at the elite women’s college.
All three instances of anti-Jewish vandalism occurred in the same residence building.
Investigations are ongoing by local and federal police.
“Based on all of the information that we have available to us, we believe that these incidents are the acts of an individual Mount Holyoke student who is living on campus,” Stephens said. “We find abhorrent, and take extremely seriously, such acts of hatred against fellow members of our community. We underscore the seriousness of any attack on our Jewish community, and reiterate that we have pursued, and will continue to pursue, the investigation with vigor and diligence.”
Stephens stressed that the “association of the specific drawings found were intended to convey the murderous legacy of the Nazi regime, anti-Semitism, hate and white supremacy – none of these have any place at Mount Holyoke or in the many international communities of which we are so much a part.”
Questioning whether the vandalism was the act of an “embedded white supremacist on campus or some other motivation,” Stephens sought to “understand and purposefully address these acts with any individual involved so that they end immediately.”
“At the same time, our focus is on compassion for and protection and support of Jewish community members,” she said.
She added that she was calling on any community members with information about the case to come forward.
The anti-Semitic graffiti was discovered by a student whose parent reported the incident to the New England chapter of the Anti-Defamation League on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.
“Deeply disappointing to see another anti-Semitic incident at Mount Holyoke College,” ADL New England said in a Twitter statement. “We hope the campus community is able to come together and condemn these acts of hate.”
(Israel National News North America desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)