Swastikas Found Painted On Jewish Frat House In Davis
DAVIS (CBS13) – A Jewish fraternity woke up to the hate symbols spray-painted on their home Saturday morning.
Two red swastikas were found painted on Alpha Epsilon Pi's house, an off-campus fraternity. The Davis Police Department says they are investigating the incident as a hate crime.
AEPI brothers believe the vandalism was done in retaliation to their support for Israel, as this week the student body voted to pass an act that will urge the UC Regents to divest from companies that provide resources to Israel.
The frat brothers say they've been very outspoken at those "divestment meetings" and believe someone did this in retaliation.
"[It] definitely shook me up this morning. Not something you want to wake up on a Saturday to see," said Nathaniel Bernhart, vice president of AEPI. "But I hope that a positive can come of this and it's that people can see that anti-Semitism on campus at UC Davis is very real."
Police believe the vandalism happened at some point between 2 a.m. and 9:50 a.m.
In a statement, UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi called the behavior "repugnant and a gross violation of the values our university holds dear."
Council on American Islamic Relations Sacramento Valley Executive Director Basim Elkarra released a statement Monday that says the group "condemns all acts of hate targeting members of any faith or background, including rejecting anti-Semitism."
Anyone with information relevant to the investigation is asked to call the Davis Police Department at (530) 747-5400.