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Lehigh University\u2019s Jewish Student Center (Photo credit: Jarrad Saffren)<\/p>\nLehigh University\u2019s Jewish Student Center (Photo credit: Jarrad Saffren)<\/p>\n
Over the past week, swastikas were found at Lehigh University, and an anti-Israel protest broke out at Bryn Mawr College.<\/p>\n
Following a reported assault during a Saturday, April 25, Students for Justice in Palestine demonstration at Bryn Mawr\u2019s Hepburn Teaching Theater, Lehigh University\u2019s Office of Jewish Student Life announced the discovery of swastikas at SouthSide Commons on April 27.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe deplore this hateful act and are deeply saddened that it has occurred on our Lehigh campus, which is home to over 1,000 Jewish students, faculty and staff,\u201d wrote Rabbi Steve Nathan, the school\u2019s director of Jewish student life, in a Facebook post.<\/p>\n
Rabbi Nathan confirmed that Lehigh campus police and university officials are working to identify those responsible for the vandalism.<\/p>\n
The Bryn Mawr protest began shortly after 8 a.m. on April 25, when a group of 30 to 40 masked demonstrators gathered outside the Hepburn Teaching Theater. According to a community update from President Wendy Cadge, the aim of the gathering was to disrupt a meeting of the college\u2019s board of trustees.<\/p>\n
The situation grew more volatile as demonstrators prevented people from entering or exiting the theater. Cadge reported that the group\u2019s tactics went beyond speech, resulting in a physical assault on one person and several cases of ear injuries caused by the close-range use of bullhorns.<\/p>\n
Following several unheeded warnings to clear the area, the Lower Merion Police Department was called to disperse the demonstrators. In her subsequent message to the college community, Cadge maintained that while Bryn Mawr prizes free expression, the morning\u2019s actions crossed the line into prohibited conduct. She emphasized that the school holds a \u201czero tolerance\u201d policy for physical violence and confirmed that the administration is actively working with law enforcement to identify those involved in the assault.<\/p>\n
In response to the vandalism at Lehigh, Rabbi Nathan invited students to gather at the Jewish Student Center on Packer Avenue, which he described as a permanent \u201csafe space\u201d for the community. He emphasized the need for solidarity, stating that the best response to such acts is to \u201cjoin together as a community to support one another and to celebrate our Jewish identity.\u201d To that end, a coalition of campus groups \u2014 including Hillel, Chabad, AEPi and Friends of Israel \u2014 will host a communal barbecue this Thursday evening at the Tamerler Courtyard behind the Rauch Business Center.<\/p>\n
Following the police intervention at Bryn Mawr, Bryn Mawr\u2019s SJP chapter took to social media to defend the disruption. The group argued that their efforts were necessary to force the college to \u201cdivest from the Zionist entity,\u201d characterizing the board\u2019s financial portfolio as being tied to genocide. The post further criticized the administration\u2019s use of law enforcement, calling the police presence an attempt by the college to distance itself from its own alleged \u201ccomplicity in genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n