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Four University of Rochester students have been charged with felony criminal mischief for their alleged involvement in distributing “Wanted” posters of University of Rochester leadership, faculty and employees a week and a half ago.
The posters targeted those UR community members for their handling of the university’s response to the Oct. 7 attacks against Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza and Lebanon, or for their alleged ties to the Israeli war effort and settlement movement.
“While I regret that this deeply disturbing incident took place on our campus, I am incredibly satisfied that through a thorough investigation we were able to identify those who are allegedly responsible and hold them accountable for the deliberate and deplorable actions targeted toward members of our University community, including members of our Jewish population,” wrote Quchee Collins, UR’s chief of public safety, in a message to the university community.
Collins did not identify for the four students or a fifth individual who remains under investigation.
While describing the posters as antisemitic, Collins said “these actions do not meet the legal threshold for being a hate crime, according to the feedback we received from various law enforcement authorities who ultimately make the final determination. This status could possibly change over the course of the legal proceedings.”
After the posters appeared on the River Campus, UR president Sarah Mangelsdorf said in a statement that “this act is disturbing, divisive and intimidating and runs counter to our values as a university. Several of those depicted appear to have been targeted because they are members of our Jewish community. We view this as antisemitism, which will not be tolerated at our University.”
The incident has drawn news coverage from CNN, ABC News, NPR, and other national and international outlets. It also has been denounced on Capitol Hill. In remarks from the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, “I condemn these cheap antisemitic bully tactics, and urge all of us to work together so we may root out antisemitism wherever it rears its ugly head.”
However, the UR chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace was critical of the UR administration’s response to the incident.
“These posters highlighted Jewish and non-Jewish administrators and professors and explicitly condemned their support for the Israeli military and government,” the group said in a statement. “The administration’s hasty jump to attribute these posters to antisemitism, without any proper investigation, comes across as an attempt to censor any discussion of the University of Rochester’s complicity in the Israeli army’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
The group added: “Antisemitism is bigotry or hatred against Jewish people on the basis of their identify and we unequivocally oppose it. … It is not, however, antisemitic to criticize the Israeli government and military that is committing war crimes.”
Some UR students have pushed for the university to divest from Israeli institutions and corporations. According to minutes from a February meeting of the school’s Ethical Investment Advisory Committee, the university has roughly $7.8 million in Israel-related investments through its Long Term Investment Pool.
Paul Ericson is Rochester Beacon executive editor. The Beacon welcomes comments and letters from readers who adhere to our comment policy including use of their full, real name. See “Leave a Reply” below to discuss on this post. Comments of a general nature may be submitted to the Letters page by emailing [email protected].
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Len. How disappointing to call my effort for dialogue a “rant”. And then just some of it being relevant. First of all, I’m a registered Independent. That means I think for myself, vote accordingly as in whom I feel will do the best job. I’m not a follower but one who looks at the issues and then applies a decision. So to start off, you Len, made an assumption that I was one of those “Right” people. I spent a tour in the US Marine Corps. I learned quickly that “assumption” in the field gets people killed. Therefor I don’t assume nor do I tag someone being one of those on the “Left” because i’m an independant. Next assumption is that I am anti Ukraine. Another bad assumption. I fully support any country (NATO) and the United States of America in the effort to rid ourselves of the Russian intrusion. Realize that they were egged on when they amassed their troops on the border. Our president said that nothing was going to happen and if it did, it would be over in a few days. (General Mark Miley, Joint Chiefs of Staff/Biden Administration) Guess who is still in control of the battle front? Despite the fact that the US slowed the aid and denied them the use of the F-16 for months. The US has done much of the dictating of what can be, will be, etc. in that conflict. Ok, I hope I straightened out your assumption. Semper Fi.
Len….I don’t know if you are still following this subject. If you are, I can’t hear you.
Sorry, I was still laughing about how you spent so much time and effort defending yourself against “assumptions” which I never made. To quote Bill Shakespeare (with a slight gender shift), “The gentleman doth protest too much, methinks.”
I commend the UR chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace’s response to this occurence. Criticizing the Israeli government and Netanyahu is NOT antisemitism. Whis is more virulent? Antisemitism or the hatred to Palestinians and the people of the Muslim faith. We have elected leaders suggested that all Muslims should be exterminated. I believe in the sancity of life for Jews, Muslims, Christians. We seem to specialize in division, not in compassion for all human beings.
That social slicing and dicing was an Obama specialty. Pitting one against the other as opposed to unity.
AntiSemitism should be regarded the sole property of the Far Right. While opposing the “overkill” activities of the Israeli government in Gaza is understandable and even commendable, anyone who claims to be a Liberal/Progressive and who crosses the line between such opposition and ends up engaging in antiSemitism in any form is neither a Liberal nor a Progressive but is simply a thug.
Ah, students. The definition of a student is “someone who is studying in order to enter a particular profession”. Just because you’re now attending a university doesn’t make you an expert. Most are still a bit wet behind the ears. Time, experience and continued learning allows you to participate with some assemblance of intellect over time. If you think that disruption, violence, destruction and yes signage, is yours to do as you please…….think again. Or, better yet, think in the first place. I’m far from an expert when it come to life. That said I’ve seen some.
…..and Len, what should have been the response to the murdering, raping, torturing etc. I’m not going to judge it. But you seem to have a handle on just whom is at fault. Tell us just what kind of a response was justified. None maybe, some maybe. I think way to many in these United States of America have been spoiled with the peace, the freedom, the opportunity, the healthcare, the education and then think they can judge to world based on their experience in this nation. Semper Fi.
Nice rant. Some of it was actually relevant to what I posted. As to Israel in Gaza, no thinking person denies that Israel has a right to exist and to respond forcefully to terrorist attacks. And no thinking person believes that killing over 44,000 residents of Gaza, 99% of which likely had nothing to do with the 2023 Hamas attacks, is a proportionate and justifiable response. Those unthinking persons on the Right who claim to support Israel and would give the Netanyahu regime carte blanche to do what they will in Gaza, hypocritically oppose aid to Ukraine, a nation fighting for its life. A situation not the case in Israel.