When UF’s Hillel should be focusing on celebrating its winter Festival of Lights, the organization for Jewish college students is, instead, trying to persevere in the face of alleged anti-Semitism.
During the weekend, the large menorah outside UF’s Hillel was pulled from the ground and had its oil lamps damaged in the process. The vandalism, according to Joshua Kahn, the Hillel’s Israel program director, follows an unfortunate event Friday evening when about 10 people were witnessed saying, “F--- the Jews.”
These two acts come on the heels of a report released Friday by Attorney General Bill McCollum that found Alachua County ranked second in the state in number of overall hate crimes in 2009. One of these such hate crimes involved a swastika being painted on a UF Jewish fraternity house.
The Editorial Board strongly condemns such actions, and we’re disgusted with such hateful acts.
It will never be possible to progress as an inclusive, progressive community when such deplorable acts of blatant religious intolerance plague our city and our university.
Furthermore, when UF boasts the largest Jewish population of any public institution, according to the national Hillel group, each and every one us should be mortified for our community as a result of the select few individuals who choose to mar the image of inclusiveness Gainesville is known to embody.
The Alligator strongly hopes the Hillel and the rest of the Jewish community enjoy the remainder of its Hanukkah free of persecution.
