Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Brown University Condemns ‘Vulgar,’ ‘Anti-Semitic’ Sign On Campus

Brown University issued a statement Friday condemning an anti-Semitic incident that took place on campus last month, Jewish Journal reported.

Two people not affiliated with the university displayed “a vulgar and highly offensive anti-Semitic sign, and attempting to engage members of our community in discussion” on July 31, according to a notice from Shontay Delalue, Brown University vice president for Institutional Equity and Diversity.

“While we welcome free expression, behavior that creates a hostile environment on campus is not tolerated,” Delalue wrote. “This includes expressions of hatred based on race, religion, gender, sexual orientation and any other protected classes. I and other members of Brown’s senior leadership — including the offices of the President, Provost and Campus Life — have been in close discussion to learn as much information as possible about this incident. We are saddened that some Brown community members and campus visitors had to witness such abhorrent behavior.“

Delalue added that the two individuals were told to move their actions from campus – which is privately owned – to public property. The university also plans to establish a call-in line to report bias incidents, she said.

Patrick Little, the neo-Nazi who unsuccessfully ran for Senate in California, took his “Name the Jew” tour — where he holds signs like “Jews Rape Kids” — to Providence, RI, where Brown University is located, on July 31 – the same day as the incident, according to the Anti-Defamation League. It’s unclear if these situations are related.

Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.

In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.

At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.

Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.

Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly. 

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.