University Of Texas Hillel Vandalized
(JTA) — The University of Texas and Austin Police are working to determine whether an incident of vandalism at the campus Hillel was specifically targeting the Jewish community.
The Texas Hillel said in a statement Tuesday that was also posted on Facebook that a window of the Texas Hillel building was broken on Saturday morning. The vandalism comes amid an uptick across the country in threats on Jewish community buildings.
The office of University President Greg Fenves said in a statement: “The University will assist Austin police as they investigate and determine if this was an act of hate against Jewish students. As the UT community made clear at last week’s town hall, acts of hate — whether posters targeting Muslims and immigrants or a rock thrown at Hillel — have no place here. We will do everything we can to support our students who were affected by this.”
Hillel said in its statement that it is “working to take specific actions to ensure the safety of the Jewish community on campus,” and said it would provide more details on those actions when it is available.
“Our primary focus is to ensure all Jewish students feel safe and welcome on campus, and that incidents like this do not happen again. Texas Hillel is here to engage and connect with any students or faculty who are impacted by this incident, and we welcome members of our community to join us in developing proactive ways to process and address these issues,” the Hillel statement said,
There are more than 3,000 Jewish students at the University of Texas in Austin.
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