College campus (illustration)
College campus (illustration)iStock

Ithaca College has launched an investigation into antisemitic vandalism discovered on a campus storage room door used for a kosher kitchen.

On October 6, a swastika was found on the door beneath the Terrace Dining Hall, where supplies for the school’s kosher kitchen are kept, Ithaca Voice reported.

According to Ithaca President La Jerne Terry Cornish, who said she was “dismayed” over the graffiti, the person who reported the swastika to campus officials told them that it had been on the door since August 2021.

“The Office of Public Safety is investigating the incident as a hate crime due to the location of the swastika and it being targeted specifically toward members of our Jewish community,” Cornish said in a statement. “While the person reporting it said that the symbol had been there since August of 2021, this news will understandably raise fresh pain and fear.”

Cornish denounced the graffiti, calling it “unacceptable.”

“Antisemitic, racist, and other threatening symbols, words, behaviors, and ideologies are unacceptable and should find no home on our campus,” she wrote. “We must all recommit to the values of respect, equity, and accountability, so that all members of our campus community can live and learn in an environment in which they feel safe and secure.”

The campus has dealt with multiple incidents of swastikas targeting Jewish students in recent years.

In February, a swastika was found drawn on a glass panel in a hallway.

In April 2019, dorm room doors were defaced with swastikas. There have also been cases in the last few years of Jewish students having mezuzahs stolen from their doors.