Michigan State Jewish center hit with rocks, vandalized with swastika graffiti two days later
MSU Chabad, a Jewish center for students and members of the local community, was targeted by a vandal multiple times within the span of two days.
The vandal was caught on camera pelting the community center with rocks and spray-painting swastikas on it.
A vandal was caught on camera defacing a university’s Jewish community center multiple times during the Hanukkah holiday.
The Michigan State University Chabad Jewish Center was targeted with two separate acts of vandalism on Dec. 16 and again on Dec. 18, according to a police bulletin shared on the City of East Lansing’s website.
The report details that the suspect was caught on film in the first incident hurling rocks at the community center. In the second occurrence, the suspect threw more rocks at the building and “spray-painted Nazi symbols on the front door.”
Pictures of the vandalism posted to X by StopAntisemitism show two orange swastikas on the door with the words “he’s back” painted beneath them.
“Video evidence appears to indicate that the same subject committed both acts of vandalism and, therefore, the incidents may be related,” the bulletin stated.
The East Lansing Police Department requested that members of the public report any information they may have about the incident or the suspect involved.
University President Kevin Guskiewicz condemned the attacks in a statement, saying, “Acts such as these reverberate far beyond physical damage, especially for members of the Jewish community who continue to live with the heightened reality of antisemitism.”
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MSU Chabad posted its own message on Instagram, signaling that it would not be deterred by the acts of vandalism.
“Chabad remains open, strong, and unwavering in its mission to be a home away from home for Jewish Spartans — a place of warmth, safety, Jewish pride, and belonging,” it wrote. “That mission continues because of the strength, resolve, and support of this community.”
This is at least the second incident of a school being targeted with anti-Semitic graffiti in the last month. Campus Reform reported that such messages were written on a dorm door and in the bathroom of a residence hall at Miami University.
Michigan State University, MSU Chabad, StopAntisemitism, and the East Lansing Police Department have been contacted for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
