San Francisco Jewish Student Center vandalized with Islamist graffiti

San Francisco Hillel House, a Jewish center serving students at San Francisco State University, was vandalized with anti-Semitic and Islamist graffiti on Sunday.

The Jewish Community Relations Council, an umbrella organization representing Jews in the region, issued the following statement regarding X:

Last night it was one block from @SFHillel House.
The @SFSU campus was vandalized with anti-Semitic graffiti and the perpetrators attempted to gain entry.

The graffiti refers to Khyber, a historical region of Arabia in the 7th century where fighting between Muslims and Jews resulted in mass expulsion and genocide of the Jewish community. This highly problematic reference not only shifts the complex Israeli-Palestinian conflict into a religious struggle between Islam and Judaism, but also carries the implicit threat of armed violence and forced expulsion against Jews today. .

Hillel is a center of Jewish life on college campuses around the world and a pillar of support for Jewish identity, education, and student community. Thank you to @SFPD and the San Francisco State University Police Department for removing the graffiti, and to SFSU President Lynn Mahoney for quickly responding to the incident.

San Francisco State has long been a center of anti-Israel activity. Earlier this year, university officials bowed to pro-Palestinian protesters and announced they would boycott certain weapons manufacturers, a clear violation of state law prohibiting anti-Israel boycotts.