Along with the ASU community, the Center for Judaic, Holocaust and Peace Studies condemns the recent manifestations of anti-Semitism on our campus. We welcome and support the recent resolutions of the ASU Faculty Senate against racism. This said, the recent anti-Semitic propaganda in the form of stickers placed on various places across our campus and timed to coincide with the beginning of the Jewish High Holidays is particularly heinous and necessitate a separate response and extra steps. These stickers captured a range of visual anti-Semitic images and directly revived Nazi propaganda campaigns against alleged Jewish "mimicry." Anti-Semitic stickers are hardly new and have been a popular tool of anti-Semites in Europe and the U.S. since the late nineteenth century. They are cheap, easily placed and quickly communicate hate-filled polemical messages to large audiences. While we recognize the importance of free speech and expression, it does not extend to hate speech, which creates a hostile campus environment and hurts members of our community. We call on the campus and broader communities not to be silent, but to speak out and confront these and other verbal and physical expressions of anti-Semitism at ASU and in the broader community. It is important to learn more about anti-Semitic myths and stereotypes and the continued damage done by them.
We call on the ASU administration, faculty, and student groups to reveal and address underlying anti-Semitism, racism, misogyny, homophobic and transphobic abuse, and more in whatever venue they deem appropriate. The Center will continue to offer assistance and organize educational events to this end. Other organizations, including ASU's Hillel chapter, will do likewise. We also call on everyone to help make ASU and Boone places that are welcoming to Jewish students, faculty and staff and that support Jewish religious and cultural practices in their midst, especially during these Days of Awe. Hatred, verbal or even physical anti-Semitic onslaughts have no room at ASU and in Boone and cannot be tolerated. They violate the values and laws of this community. At the same time, we call on everyone to not just confront expressions of anti-Semitism, but all forms of racism and hatred that target many communities. Let us work for a better, more caring and supportive environment and culture that will support all of its members.
On behalf of the Center for Judaic, Holocaust and Peace Studies and its supporters,
Thomas Pegelow Kaplan
Leon Levine Distinguished Professor and Director
Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies