U of Rochester president condemns 'Wanted' posters targeting Jewish and pro-Israel faculty
Hundreds of 'Wanted' posters featuring pro-Israel University of Rochester faculty members were found on campus on Sunday night.
The posters reportedly attacked various staff members for their response to anti-Israel campus protests after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, as well as their alleged ties to the Jewish state
Hundreds of “Wanted” posters featuring pro-Israel University of Rochester faculty members were found on campus on Sunday night.
The posters reportedly attacked various staff members for their response to anti-Israel campus protests after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, as well as their alleged ties to the Jewish state, as first reported by the Rochester Beacon.
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The displays have also accused faculty of favoring “ethic cleansing” and displaying “misuse of power and racism,” as reported by the New York Post.
Images are emerging from the University of Rochester of “Wanted” posters being plastered on the walls.
The wanted individuals? The University’s Jewish faculty.
So, what are students meant to do when they find the people on these signs? pic.twitter.com/7HRGzvC9nh— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) November 12, 2024
University President Sarah Mangelsdorf released a school-wide message yesterday to condemn the posters.
”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,” she wrote. “This act is disturbing, divisive and intimidating and runs counter to our values as a university.”
Mangelsdorf also rebuked the displays for seemingly targeting individuals of the community because they are Jewish.
”We view this as antisemitism, which will not be tolerated at our University,” she added. “This isn’t who we are. This goes against everything we stand for and we have an obligation to reject it.”
The university’s Department of Public Safety has since launched an investigation into the origins of the posters’ appearance.
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”They disproportionately singled out Jewish faculty and staff, and used language that spreads harmful, antisemitic ideas about Jewish people and Jewish indigeneity,” Rochester Hillel Executive Director Joe Getnick said, the Post reported.
In December, student activists protested against “anti-Palestinian censorship” at the university. Just a few days earlier, protesters held what the school identified as an “unauthorized gathering” that resulted in a student being arrested for striking a member of the Department of Public Safety.