Hundreds of posters depicting Jewish faculty members as “wanted” were plastered across the University of Rochester campus in upstate New York on Sunday night, an antisemitic act the school’s president told CNN “would not be tolerated.”
The posters criticize faculty members for their alleged response to the war in Gaza. One poster accuses a faculty member of “ethnic cleansing” and “displacement of Palestinians.” A different poster accuses another faculty member of “racism,” “hate speech” and intimidation.
“I want to be as clear as I can that the University of Rochester strongly denounces the recent display of ‘Wanted’ posters targeting senior University leaders and members of our faculty, staff, and Board of Trustees,” university President Sarah Mangelsdorf said in a statement Tuesday. “This act is disturbing, divisive and intimidating and runs counter to our values as a university.”
One of the targets of the vandalism, Gregory Heyworth, associate professor of English and computer science, told CNN in an email he was grateful to the university for its public stance and for the president’s “clear condemnation of the antisemitism of the posters.”
Heyworth said he “was accused of ‘threatening to dox’ protesting students, in a poster that actually committed the offense of doxing.”
The professor noted the hypocrisy of the vandals, “their willingness to push the boundaries of anti-democratic behavior and infringe on free-speech – to lie, distort, and propagandize – while relying upon those same democratic values for cover.”
Since Hamas’ attack on Israel October 7, 2023, and the ensuing war in Gaza, statements from students, professors and administrators related to the conflict have inflamed college campuses across the United States.
Tensions in the Middle East rage on, with Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza yielding a dire humanitarian crisis while stoking global advocacy from supporters of Israel and Palestinians, many in support of a ceasefire.
The University of Rochester’s Hillel organization, which represents Jewish students, called the posters “deeply disturbing” in a statement to CNN and said its director was one of the targets, as were Jewish faculty and staff, but no students.
The organization called the incident “an opportunity for the University to reflect on what is needed to instill meaningful education about Jewish Peoplehood and antisemitism, so that UR is a place where Jewish life can fully and safely thrive.”
University Public Safety Chief Quchee Collins in a letter posted on the school’s website called the incident “an act of vandalism” whose goal it seemed is to “intimidate members of our University community.” He said his department is investigating.
CNN also reached out to the Hillel director pictured on a poster, who responded with an automatic email reply.
“We’ve appreciated everyone’s supportive outreach in light of the recent antisemitic and hateful incident on campus,” the response said.
This is not the first incident targeting the university’s Jewish community. Swastikas and antisemitic language written on the River Campus tunnel walls were discovered in February, according to the university. The Department of Public Safety promptly removed the “harmful symbols and words,” the university said.
The tunnels where the “disturbing discovery” was made are used by students to share news about activities on campus and to express the university’s multicultural identity, according to a news release.
“I’m just tired. It’s been a long year and I want peace desperately, but doing things like this, targeting faculty, administration and staff to intimidate them and spread hate while also just making more work for the maintenance staff is wrong,” a Jewish student at the University of Rochester, who declined to be identified, fearing retribution, told CNN on Tuesday.
“Yesterday we were scared and worried,” the student said. “Today we work towards understanding and peace.”
Another Jewish student, who also declined to be identified, fearing retribution, said they discovered the posters around 10 p.m. on Sunday.
“When I first saw this, I was horrified and upset,” the student said.
The Department of Public Safety was made aware of the posters and removed them.
“This process is painstaking because of the strong adhesive used to affix the posters, which in some cases caused damage to walls, floors, chalkboards, and other surfaces,” Collins said.
This story has been updated with additional information.