The University of California-Santa Barbara has announced the suspension of its “Multicultural Center” after it was found filled with over 100 signs displaying anti-Semitic and anti-Israel slogans.
On Monday, the Multicultural Center became a focal point for controversy as signs with blatantly antisemitic messages during a “collection event.” The signage included phrases such as “Zionists not welcome,” “Zionism is terrorism,” “Queers for Palestine,” “blood on your hands,” and “when people are occupied, resistance is justified.”
These offensive messages were reportedly posted by pro-Palestine student activists on campus.
University Chancellor Henry T. Yang wasted no time in condemning the reprehensible signage, issuing a statement that denounced the incident in a university-wide email.
“We were distressed to learn of incidents over the weekend that included offensive social media messages and signage at the MultiCultural Center entrance. Campus offices are reviewing these unauthorized and unofficial messages,” Yang stated in the email.
In response to the incident, the Multicultural Center was promptly suspended, and its Instagram account was deactivated. The university has initiated a bias incident review to investigate potential discrimination based on protected categories such as religion, citizenship, and national or ethnic origin.
“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,” Yang continued. “The posting of such messages is a violation of our principles of community and inclusion.”
This troubling episode is just the latest in a series of incidents on college campuses where antisemitism has reared its ugly head under the guise of political activism. Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict last October, there has been a disturbing trend ofcollege students condemning Israel’s right to defend itself and openly siding with the terrorist group Hamas. As students continue to advocate against Israel due to misinformation regarding the greater context of this conflict, college campuses must be quick to condemn this rhetoric when it promotes blatantly anti-Semitic behavior.
This piece first appeared at TPUSA.
