'Friends' actor David Schwimmer sounds alarm on anti-Semitic posters at UC Santa Barbara: ' Happening on campuses all across the country'
'Friends' actor David Schwimmer took to Instagram on Wednesday to raise awareness of the blatantly anti-Semitic posters put up at the University of California, Santa Barbara MultiCultural Center (MCC).
’Friends’ actor David Schwimmer took to Instagram on Wednesday to raise awareness of the blatantly anti-Semitic posters put up at the University of California, Santa Barbara MultiCultural Center (MCC).
As reported by Campus Reform, an MCC Instagram caption from earlier this week contained posters from the center’s entrance doors, which contained a sign reading “Zionists not welcome.”
“When people are occupied, Resistance is justified,” “Zionists get 0 bitches,” and “Zionists are not welcomed! Stay away from our kitchen too!” other posters read.
In some of the posts, University of California, Santa Barbara Associated Students President Tessa Veksler, who says she’s “unapologetically Jewish,” was targeted in the signs that were posted.
One sign painted Veksler as a “racist Zionist,” with another warning that “you can run but you can’t hide Tessa Veksler.” At least two other posters accused Veksler of “support[ing] genocide.”
Schwimmer, who is Jewish, pointed his followers to Veksler’s Instagram post.
”@Ucsantabarbara Student Body President harassed, intimidated, and threatened for one reason only: being Jewish,” Schwimmer wrote. “This is happening on campus[es] all across the country.”
”Please read her post,” Schwimmer added.
”I am deeply upset by the blatant antisemitic messaging displayed at UCSB’s Multicultural Center. (we see the irony, right?),” Veksler wrote in her post. “I do not feel safe on campus. How can Jewish students feel safe at UCSB when they see a Jewish leader being explicitly targeted? This is dehumanizing and rooted in antisemitism.”
“The Jewish people are not going anywhere. I’m not going anywhere,” she added.
The University of California, Santa Barbara has condemned the posters, stating they are “a violation of our principles of community and inclusion.”
”Campus offices are reviewing these unauthorized and unofficial messages. The signage has been removed and campus is conducting a bias incident review based on potential discrimination related to protected categories that include religion, citizenship, and national or ethnic origin,” university officials wrote.
Since news broke of the posters, the MCC has deleted all of its social media pages and has removed staff information from its website.
