'They got me. I'm afraid': Swastikas spray-painted on a Jewish professor's office at Columbia

[Behind the Aegis]

The psychology professor pulled open the heavy oak doors of Horace Mann Hall, which boasts 16-foot ceilings and varnished wood floors, and headed to her fourth-floor office. Filing in behind her were students preparing for a 1:30 p.m. lab meeting on Wednesday. As they entered her workspace, they passed a mezuzah, a small box containing Hebrew religious texts, affixed to her doorpost.

But the sight that met them next made the professor and her students stop in their tracks.

Anti-Semitic graffiti had been spray-painted on the office walls of Elizabeth Midlarsky, a clinical psychologist and Holocaust scholar at Columbia’s Teachers College on the Upper West Side of New York. The vandalism included swastikas and an anti-Semitic slur, “Yid,” painted in bright red on the white walls of her office foyer. The outer door had been closed but not locked, one student said.

“I was shocked. I couldn’t believe it,” she said in an interview with The Washington Post. “I’m usually not a fearful person, but they got me. I’m afraid.”



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[Dorian Gray]

1. Horrible

she shouldn't be made to feel threatened in her place of work. (Anywhere.)

This type of intimidation is rising, and it's disturbing as hell. How do we tackle this?

[Behind the Aegis]

23. We tackle it by always calling it out.

It won't always be easy nor will it always be against our "enemies", but anti-Semitism, as well as other forms of bigotry, must be called out, dealt with, and not excused.

[octoberlib]

2. Anti-Semitic incidents increased 60% from 2016 to 2017

The episode comes amid mounting concerns about anti-Semitism, rebooted for the 21st century as memory of the Holocaust begins to fade. In February, the Anti-Defamation League reported that the number of anti-Semitic incidents was nearly 60 percent higher in 2017 than in 2016, marking the largest single-year increase on record and the second-highest number reported since the organization began collecting incident data. Meanwhile, many Americans lack basic knowledge about the Holocaust, such as the name of a single concentration camp, according to a survey released in April.



How can Americans not know the name of even one concentration camp, for god sakes?

[LuvNewcastle]

14. Shit, most of them probably couldn't find Germany on a map.

Too many couldn't even find the U.S. A very significant number of Americans think that history has no relevance to the world today. That's why we're where we are now. People don't realize how bad things are because they have no knowledge of anything to compare it to.

[DFW]

3. Welcome to the age of Trump

These "fine people" now feel enabled, empowered, and, especially ALLOWED to do this kind of thing.

[watoos]

4. Not to worry,

Once we build that wall on the southern border this should all stop, right?

[yardwork]

5. Trump is literally encouraging this.

[certainot]

8. there is also a swiftboat industry out there where people get named by national and local talk radio

assholes as examples when they do something that gets the attention of the rw think tanks or rw media - or trump - stuff that they can use as extreme examples of political correctness or if a liberal teacher gets noticed for something anti trump etc

but they are the real political correctness cops

like when limbaugh calls climate scientists traitors or anita hill or blasey ford a liar, and they get death threats

[UniteFightBack]

6. We help tackle this by making sure to stand up for others whenever possible in our everyday

lives.

[leftynyc]

7. I see the responses before mine here

are assuming this came from someone on the right. After what this university has allowed in terms of speakers, I wouldn't be so sure. Anti-semitism is where the far left and the far right meet.

[certainot]

9. there are a lot of critics of jewish fundamentalism, israeli militarism and

bigotry and treatment of palestinians, and israeli support for republicans that pisses people off and that's not anti semitism

[leftynyc]

10. Is this teacher Israeli?

Or are you just comfortable saying all Jews are responsible for what Israel does?

[certainot]

11. your comment suggested bullshit bothsiderism

[leftynyc]

12. YOUR post proved that point already

If all the speakers at Colombia were merely whining about Israel, why attack THIS professor? You don't see the problem there? Feel free to continue proving my point though.

[certainot]

13. if? how the fuck do i know that 'all' the speakers at columbia are whining about israel?

like i suggested in response above she could have just made waves with the right re some research or comment that caught some attention

or it could just be some standard bigot with a bad grade

if you're suggesting critics of jewish republicans are anti semitic that's just standard republican bullshit

[leftynyc]

15. Keep digging

So you admit you don't know WHY she was targeted. She could just be Jewish and therefore a target of anyone who associates all Jews with Israel (as you seem to be comfortable enough with that you aren't condemning it). Why the fuck you want to deflect to Jewish republicans is beyond me other than simply deflecting from the problem that YOU are highlighting beautifully.

[certainot]

16. where did i say i knew why she was targeted? what percentage of that kind of attack do you think are

perpetrated by liberals angry about israeli abuse of palestinians or some israeli lobbying organization trying to get republicans elected to get us into an attack on iran etc?

maybe she parked in someone else's spot

it's possible.....

[leftynyc]

17. You DON'T know

Neither do I and that's the point. That it happened at this particular school - with its anti-Israel reputation of their speakers - leads me to believe it's FAR more likely this came from the left than the right. And to answer your question - I think attacks on Jews regarding Israel is on the rise and has been for quite a while. I wish it only came from the right - that would make a convenient foil but I know better than that. All intelligent Jews do.

[certainot]

18. okay, i wish you had included the detail about columbia in first comment

i know there are anti israeli generalizations from the left but i wouldn't know how much of that is anti-semitic. the swasticas and the fact she is a holocaust scholar suggest RW to me.

in this case i would still not be surprised to learn if some of her recent work or comments referenced trump or the right in the US and that got attention

Scholarly Interests
Altruism and religiousness through the life span. Rescue during the Holocaust and responses by survivors and their progeny. Aging and gender issues. Development and consequences of altruism, violence, and religious faith.

Selected Publications
"Helping as Coping" (Sage Publications).

"Personality correlates of heroic rescue during the Holocaust" (Journal of Personality).

"Helping by siblings of children with mental retardation" (American Journal of Mental Retardation).

"Altruism in Later Life" (Sage Publications).

"Anorexia Nervosa in post-menopausal women" (Journal of Mental Health and Aging).

"Altruism and the Vietnam War veteran" (Journal of Traumatic Stress).

"Eating disorders in middle-aged women" (Journal of General Psychology).

"Violence in schools: Cross-national and cross-sectional perspectives" (Springer Publications).

"Religiousness and Psychological Distress in Jewish and Christian Older Adults" (Clinical Gerontologist).

[leftynyc]

19. I thought that was a well known thing

about Colombia. She's brave to even want to teach there. And my entire point was whether it came from the right or the left, it wouldn't surprise me at all.

[Mosby]

21. Serious question

I'm curious how you define "jewish fundamentalism"? I've never heard that before.

[certainot]

22. i meant religious

[workinclasszero]

20. Trump is their fuhrer