Duke University Tree of Life Memorial Mural Vandalized
As people continue to mourn the October domestic terrorist attack in which a gunman killed 11 people and wounded six others at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, memorials and other tributes have popped up across the country to honor the victims.
One such tribute was a mural painted on the East Campus Bridge at Duke University, in which a group of students gathered with paint and brushes to honor the victims and spread a message of love on campus. Senior Grant Besner told Duke’s student newspaper, The Chronicle, that the idea came about after a discussion between a group of Jewish students, after which Grant bought supplies and made a Facebook event to get the word out.
The final image was the Pittsburgh Steelers’ logo adapted with the Star of David, along with the phrase “We must build this world from love,” which was written in both English and Hebrew along with the names of the 11 victims.
But the mural was vandalized over the weekend when a swastika was spray-painted on top of the students’ tribute.
Campus officials were quick to respond to the vandalism, with Duke University president Vincent Price calling it a “craven and cowardly act.” In a letter to the Duke community that was sent out on Monday, Price said the red Nazi symbol was “a desecration of a memorial to individuals who were killed because they were Jewish and practicing their faith—[that it] should happen anywhere is extremely distressing. That it should occur in such a visible, public location at Duke should be a matter of grave concern to us all.”
Price then announced: “To our Jewish students, faculty, staff and neighbors—and indeed every member of our university community—I pledge that Duke will do whatever we can to protect your safety.”
President Price closed his letter by mentioning that “this poison of hate” is part of a “national, even global, trend that has seen hate crimes in general, and anti-Semitism in particular, increase dramatically in the past year.” He stated that “we have an urgent obligation to confront anti-Semitism and other forms of hate on campus and in Durham” and because of this, he will be “convening a meeting of leaders from Duke, the local Jewish community and public officials to review this matter and advise us on the actions we can take to confront the scourge of anti-Semitism through education and activism.”
The university’s immediate response so far has been to upgrade security at the Freeman Center for Jewish Life and a few other locations on campus, while also installing security cameras near the East Campus Bridge, as it has “unfortunately become a focus of attention for those who seek to promote hatred and intimidation,” according to Price.
Related: University of North Carolina — Chapel Hill Students Topple Confederate Statue
