Jewish Groups At UC Davis Say Hate Incidents Are ‘Swept Under The Rug’
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
(JTA) — Jewish groups at the University of California, Davis, said in a letter to the school’s chancellor that hate incidents are “continuously being swept under the rug.”
The letter came a week after fliers blaming Jews for the sexual assault allegations against newly sworn-in Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh were posted on campus. The fliers have been posted on several campuses and at other venues across the country.
“While the fliers were taken down as soon as they were reported, the campus’ response to this incident is insufficient and does not offer specific support for Jewish students,” more than a dozen Jewish groups said in the letter.
The groups called on Chancellor Gary May to adjust the statement he sent out in the wake of the incident and to “offer more support for the Jewish community.” May condemned the fliers, said they do “not represent who we are as a community” and violate the campus posting policy.
Their letter, which noted at least three recent anti-Semitic incidents on campus, also directed students in need of support to the Student Health and Counseling Services and the Harassment and Discrimination and Prevention Program.
“We are asking the administration to show us that we are not alone in dealing with this,” the letter said. “Anti-Semitism is very real and alive on our campus. Jewish students should not have to be scared of walking on campus. Students are choosing not to openly identify as Jews through our clothing. Feeling targeted takes away from our studies, greatly affects our mental well-being, and contributes to an environment at UC Davis where we do not feel safe.”
On Monday, an editorial appeared in the student newspaper, The Aggie, titled “University offers insufficient response to anti-Semitic fliers.”
“The university’s response was disorganized, with grammatical errors and incorrect links to unrelated campus resources appearing in the initial draft of the chancellor’s statement,” the editorial said. “This situation warrants not only an official university response, at a bare minimum, but a strong stance. Not once did the chancellor mention the Jewish community or Jews in his statement, the group most affected by this aimed attack.”
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