Vandals broke into a Jewish fraternity house at UC San Diego last weekend and spray painted antisemitic words and symbols on the walls.
The students’ first call when they discovered the break-in was to Hillel of San Diego, according to CEO Karen Parry.
She said the incident isn’t surprising, “But it hurts every time because you think things are about to get better and then boom, this sucker punch.”
The organization serves 4,000 students across four college campuses in San Diego County.
This last school year, Parry said they responded to over 50 antisemitic incidents — which is down from the year before.
“But the challenge that we're seeing is that the types of incidents that we're seeing are more egregious. They're deeper violations of young people's experiences. And so while there are less of them, they are worse,” she said.
The worsening incidents have caused some students to debate whether to wear their Star of David necklaces on the outside or the inside of their shirts, she said.
The break-in came as students gear up for the new school year. It’s made some nervous to host other Jewish students, Parry said.
They asked Hillel to raise funds to improve the security of their homes.
“They deserve to have places where they can invite their friends, and they can be in their full identities without worrying that somebody is going to break in and destroy what they've built,” she said.
Her team is aiming to raise about $15,000, Parry said. The fund will provide not just home security improvements, but counseling and hot meals for students who face incidents like this.
The fraternity said in a statement the attempt to intimidate them will not succeed.
They remain proud of their Jewish identity.
