Rabbi says his six children were inside at the time
A Jewish center at the University of Southern California was vandalized late Tuesday by two individuals who allegedly kicked its glass door and then ran away, according to a security video.
The USC Chabad Jewish Student Center posted a security video and photos of the vandalism on Instagram, showing broken glass and scratch marks on the front door of the building.
The video, which is timestamped 10:10 p.m. Tuesday, shows two individuals approach the building and kick the door before quickly running away.
“Two thugs just smashed the glass on our front door and ran off. Hoping @uscedu DPS can track them,” Chabad USC wrote on Instagram.
“Our world keeps getting crazier! Thank G-d none of the kids were near the door and we are all safe. Have to figure out something to secure the front door until we can get this fixed,” it wrote.
A USC Department of Safety daily crime log lists a vandalism incident at the same time as the timestamp and on the same street as the Chabad house.
NBC Los Angeles reports:
A rabbi and his family, including six children, who live at the house were home at the time. Rabbi Dov Wagner can be heard shouting for others to get back from the door in the security camera video.
“Suddenly, we heard a smash, crashing glass, so I came toward the front door,” said Wagner.
He said four people on bikes rode directly up to the house. Two got off their bikes and kicked the door, he said.
“When you don’t know what’s coming at you, it’s a scary moment,” Wager said. “In a normal situation, it might not have had quite such a fright, but this year has been anything but normal.”
Jewish students and faculty have reported an alarming rise in antisemitism on college campuses in recent months, following the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.
However, allegations of antisemitism at USC go back for years.
In 2022, the Department of Education opened an investigation into the California institution after activists reportedly harassed several Jewish student leaders for allegedly making insensitive comments about race or for supporting Israel, The College Fix reported at the time.
Then last fall, a Jewish economics professor was told to stay off campus while he was investigated after getting into a confrontation with pro-Palestinian student demonstrators; he later was allowed to return, The Fix reported.
MORE: Department of Education launches probe into USC’s alleged antisemitism
IMAGE: Chabad USC/Instagram
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