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Sacramento leaders speak out against recent antisemitic vandalism found near colleges

A Sacramento State student reported finding a swastika on a classroom wall Thursday morning. On Friday, an employee reported a swastika near the university.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento leaders met Friday to discuss recent incidents of antisemitic vandalism found near local college campuses.

"I'm an American Jew and I'm a Jewish mayor and I'm proud of that. This display representing the Holocaust and the murder of six million of my people has no place," said Mayor Darrell Steinberg.

According to Sacramento State University President Robert Nelsen, a student reported finding a swastika on a classroom wall Thursday morning. Then, on Friday, an employee reported a swastika on J Street near the entrance to the campus.

"We're going to change some things that we're going to do. We're going to do regular walk-throughs of buildings and things like that to make sure that we're there, and then we're going to reach out to our Jewish students and see how they're doing and what we can do to support them," said Nelsen.

Meanwhile, school officials say they are working to remove the offensive images from the campus.

"While I do not believe that the two instances are related, the appearance of these symbols on and near our campus is a reminder that we must consistently and proactively stand against antisemitism, white supremacy, and all other forms of hate on our campus, in our region, and in our nation," Nelsen wrote in a statement.

Sacramento State officials encourage students who see any symbol of hate, or concerning images or language on campus to report it using their anti-bias reporting tool.

"It's terrifying. It's uncomfortable. This is one of our first years back on campus and it's just... it's really uncomfortable to see something like that because we all want to feel safe. It's not even a funny thing to do at this point," said Sac State junior, Isis Alvarez.

The university says they are going to work on changing how they will respond to antisemitic vandalism on their campus.

"In consultation with Inclusive Excellence, we are crafting a new goal in our Antiracism and Inclusion Campus Action Plan, which will codify how we will respond to this type of defacement," Nelsen said.

UC Davis antisemitic banner

Four men were recently accused of hanging an antisemitic banner over the Highway 113 bicycle overpass, according to a statement from the UC Davis Chancellor.

Chancellor Gary S. May said Sunday that, according to a report, a similar incident happened last weekend too. The chancellor said campus police have determined the incident is a concern to the campus community.

"We are sickened that anyone would invest any time in such cowardly acts of hate and intimidation. They have no place here. We encourage our community to stand against antisemitism and racism," May wrote in a statement.

Campus update from President Robert S. Nelsen: On Thursday, Sept. 1, a student reported finding a swastika on a...

Posted by Sacramento State on Friday, September 2, 2022

Read more from ABC10: 

Watch more from ABC10: UC Davis investigating holocaust denialism, hate speech aimed at Jewish community

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