By Donald H. Harrison in San Diego
There were developments affecting the Jewish community at two university campuses, UCSD and SDSU, in San Diego this week.
San Diego Police said they are investigating vandalism and a weekend break-in at a home being utilized by members of Alpha Epsilon Pi of UCSD as a hate crime, which carries penalty enhancements in case perpetrators are found guilty.
Swastikas, KKK, and other antisemitic graffiti were daubed on exterior and interior walls of a home in University City utilized by the AEPi membership.
A group of 48 local Jewish organizations known as “The Finest Community Coalition” issued this statement, according to San Diego Union-Tribune reporter Caleb Lunetta, whose story rounded up reaction to the incident:
“Hate like this is meant to make Jewish life smaller and quieter. In San Diego, it does the opposite. Our community will only be louder, prouder, and more visible because of it.”
UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla said, “To have a residence vandalized with swastikas and other discriminatory language is abhorrent and unacceptable. We condemn this vile act and will not accept hate or antisemitism toward anyone in our community.”
Three groups combined to offer a reward of up to $2,000 for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators. They were the Hate Crime Fund, the GLBTQ+ Historic Task Force, and San Diego Crime Stoppers.
Hiillel at San Diego’s Executive Director Karen Parry, in a column that ran in the San Diego Jewish World on August 10, announced creation of a Community Safety Fund with an initial goal of $15,000, “to ensure we can respond to security issues and crises immediately.”
A statement from AEPi said in part: “We hope to use this moment as an inflection point at UCSD by bringing meaningful educational programs to our campus community – programs focused on combating antisemitism, fostering understanding, and breaking down the barriers of ignorance and hate.”
Similarly, the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations stated: ”We urge the university community and law enforcement to take all incidents of hate vandalism seriously, support those targeted, and work to ensure that all students can live, study and participate in campus life without fear.”
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Across town, near San Diego State University, the Chabad House which has served Jewish students since 1977 is scheduled to be demolished to make room for an 8-story, 78-unit student housing building at the corner of Montezuma and Rockford.
According to Drew Sitton, a reporter with Times of San Diego, the Chabad House will occupy first-floor quarters of the new “Maison” (French for “House”) development.
San Diego State is growing quickly with over 40,000 students enrolled in 2025 making more student housing a necessity. There will be no parking spaces at the Maison development, just a drop-off and pick-up easement that may be utilized by car services.
Weston Harmer gave a presentation on Monday, August 18, to the College Area Community Planning Group, prompting board member Lindsay Rodriquiz to comment, “This is the kind of development we want here. I hope we can get more like this near SDSU in the future.”
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Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World.