A fraternity at George Washington University (GWU) was the victim of a hate crime.
The Tau Kappa Epsilon chapter at GWU experienced a break in which involved vandalism and property damage. But the most upsetting part of the break in was the antisemitic hate crime left for the fraternity members.
The Tay Kappa Epsilon house had a copy of the Torah, the holy book of the Jewish faith, which was ripped up and covered in laundry detergent.
The incident led to a large protest at the University.
Watch the video here:
@jewishunpacked A fraternity house at GW was broken into & vandalized. Their replica Torah was ripped apart & had detergent poured over it. Then this happened:
The TikTok, posted by the account JewishUnpacked, shows hundreds of students standing in solidarity with the fraternity and their Jewish classmates, both around the fraternity house and at the on-campus Jewish organization GW Hillel.
GWU Tau Kappa Epsilon president Chris Osborne said in an interview with CNN fraternity members had discovered the Torah and other religious texts vandalized on Sunday morning, calling it "an act of antisemitism."
"There was a Christian Bible and a Jewish Torah in the room."
"Only the Jewish Torah was vandalized. I believe it was a hate crime."
According to Osborne, the vandals also smeared hot sauce on the walls and ripped the smoke detectors out of the ceilings.
Tau Kappa Epsilon's national chapter released a statement saying they were "disappointed, frustrated and sickened" by the incident.
The statement said:
"This attack on Greek Life and display of Anti-Semitism has no place in our society."
GWU President Thomas LeBlanc called the vandalism a "serious act of hate" and said "any act of antisemitism is an attack on the entire GW community."
TikTok users are showing their support for the fraternity and standing with the victims of antisemitism.
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This attack is just the latest in a growing list of antisemitic hate crimes committed at college campuses.
The Anti-Defamation League, in partnership with Hillel, conducted a survey in October of this year that showed one third of Jewish college students have experienced some form of antisemitism in the past year, and 15% of the survey participants felt the need to hide their Jewish identity.
Executive director of the GW Hillel, Adena Kirstein, expressed appreciation over the student response to the GWU hate crime.
She said:
"I remain moved by our Jewish community at GW and motivated to continue to build vibrant Jewish life here on-campus."
"Our students are willing to ask critical questions, exercise Jewish values, and stand proudly with our community."
