Home, vehicles vandalized with pro-Palestinian graffiti Monday after office targeted in June
The home of University of Michigan Regent Jordan Acker was damaged by vandals Monday in an act the public institution described as “abhorrent” and “antisemitic.”
It is the second vandalism targeting Acker, who is Jewish, since June.
The incident was “a clear act of antisemitic intimidation,” the university responded Monday in a statement online. “The University of Michigan condemns these criminal acts in the strongest possible terms. They are abhorrent and, unfortunately, just the latest in a number of incidents where individuals have been harassed because of their work on behalf of the university.”
Early Monday morning, Acker said he heard glass breaking and thought one of his daughters had broken a glass cup downstairs, according to The Detroit News.
“It was very loud and it sounded like dishes breaking,” Acker said. “It was only about 30 seconds later when the police arrived that I came down and realized what had happened.”
Photos published by the university show a smashed window and graffiti spraypainted over Acker’s car, the words “Divest” and “Free Palestine” written in red paint across the side.
Acker said both his and his wife’s vehicles were vandalized, and someone threw a jar with a “foul-smelling liquid” through a window of their house.
Neighbors called the police after seeing two suspects run away from the house, Acker said.
“This is the third time that I — and now my family — have been the target of these Klan-like tactics,” Acker wrote in an Instagram post. “We all need to call out this cowardly act attacking my family and my home for what it truly is — terrorism.”
Local police and the FBI are investigating, The Detroit News reports:
Acker called the upside-down red triangle the vandals also painted on the vehicle along with the graffiti particularly disturbing and upsetting. He considers the incident a threat against his family.
“That symbol has been used by Hamas to mean something is a legitimate military target,” the regent said. “This is a threat. This was not a protest. This is terrorism.”
The Huntington Woods Department of Public Safety confirmed the incident, saying in a press release that officers responded to Acker’s home at about 2 a.m. Monday and are investigating “in cooperation with other state and federal agencies.”
“We are aware of the incident; however, the FBI’s policy is to neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation,” said Jordan Hall, the public affairs officer for FBI’s Detroit Field Office.
Rabbi Davey Rosen, chief executive officer of the university’s Hillel, said Acker has been active with the Jewish organization on campus, and the vandalism was clearly “antisemitic.”
“Harassing and attacking Regent Acker and his family is unacceptable; it exacerbates tensions and undermines efforts to foster a welcoming and inclusive campus for all,” Rosen wrote in a Facebook post.
“Hillel values the work of Regent Acker in supporting the Jewish community on campus. In addition to actively resisting calls to divest from Israel, he has meaningfully engaged with the Hillel community,” the rabbi wrote.
In June, Acker’s law office also was vandalized with pro-Palestinian graffiti, The College Fix reported at the time.
The crimes are believed to be connected to recent pro-Palestinian protests on campus and demands by student groups that the public university cut ties with companies and organizations linked to Israel.
MORE: Bill to combat campus antisemitism stalled in Senate
IMAGE: University of Michigan
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