BLOOMINGTON, Ind.— Hundreds of small red boxes are popping up on the frames of doors across theIndiana University campus.
They're appearingin dorms, atsorority and fraternity housesand inside the IU Memorial Union. They'reeven on doors atthe office of the dean of students.
The red boxes are modeled after mezuzah cases thatare common fixtures onthe doorposts of Jewish homes —includingdorm rooms where Jewish students live. Intended to serve as a reminder of the presence of God, they typically contain slips of paper or parchment with verses from the Torah.
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But the rectangular boxes spreading across the IU campus have anotherpurpose. And they carry a different message.
They say "I support my Jewish friends," and their growing presence is part of a campus-wide response to an increase in troublingactivity thisyear at IU and around Bloomington.
“There have been more antisemitic incidents in one semester, basically, than I have seen combined in all the years that I've been here. And I've been here for 31 years," said Rabbi SueSilberberg, executive director of the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center at IU.
The incidents have some Jewish students beginning to questiontheir choice of IU —which has long been regarded as safe and supportive —and who they can trust on campus and around town.Many also are disappointed by what they perceiveas a lack of action by the administration and, specifically, they want IU President Pamela Whitten to publicly condemnthe incidents.
In Indiana, the Jewish population is less than one-half of 1% of the state's residents, but about 12% of IU's roughly 45,000 students are Jewish, according toHillel College Guide Magazine.That was the ninthlargest percentageof Jewish students among all public universities in the U.S. in 2021.
Slurs and prejudice aimed at Jewishstudents, however, aren't new on the campus. And they aren't exclusive to IU.But incidents are increasing — both in Bloomington and at universities across America.
A surveyof Jewish students at 220 colleges and universities in 2021 revealed an all-time high of 244 incidents ranging from physical threats and attacks to offensive slurs and graffiti including swastikas. That number likely represents a significant undercount, said David Goldenberg, Midwest regional director for the Anti-Defamation League. The ADL-Hillel Campus Anti-Semitism Surveyfound75% of victims said they did not report incidents.
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"We're basically at a watershed point," Goldenberg said. "It's a big problem."
Most of the incidentslikely reflect longstanding prejudice and the growing polarization in politics and society:On one end of the spectrum, people with white supremacist beliefs have become emboldened by far-right politics and the anonymity of social media; on the other,anti-Israel sentiment driven by opposition to Zionism and the ongoing conflict with Palestine also is on the rise and bubbling up in academic settings.
Attacks fromboth sides, Goldenberg said, leavemanystudents uncomfortablebeing openly Jewish or participatingin progressive activities on campus.
So far, the response at IU has received mixed reviews from Jewish students.
"Overall, I think a lot of the campushas come together in support of the Jewish community," said Jared Cohen, a 19-year-old sophom*ore from the Baltimore area. "But I also think that there's been a fair amount of performative response as well — out of fear of being called out for not saying something or just wanting to have your name out there as being on the right side of things."
It is not hard to determine, he said, who is sincere and who is not.
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Cohen is among many students who feelthe administration has tried to downplay the situation.
"The thing that is so concerning for me is that it isbecoming a larger issue at an institution that for years prideditself on having one of the largest Jewish populations in the country," he said. "And my concern is, I personally don't feel like the university is doing anything."
His concern extends to the president, who has met privately with some Jewish students but has not issued any public rebuke.
"When words are not condemned, it gives people permission to continue, and to continue pushing forward," Cohen said. "And unfortunately, that often turns into someone getting hurt or killed."
Rabbi Levi Cunin, executive director of ChabadJewish Student Center,said he's heartened by the overall response from the administration. He also believes it would helpif Whitten issued a statement similar to her blog post in Septemberexpressing support for students and scholars from Afghanistan.
"I do hear from many parents, 'Why hasn't the president made any statements?'" said Cunin."Ifit's not a condemnation, a letter support would be amazing. And that's what I'm hearing from parents."
IU Provost and Executive Vice President Rahul Shrivastav did issuea messagein February to the school's fraternities and sororities. It came after anonymous,unsettling comments aimed a Jewish students on a Greek life social media site. He calledthe anonymous posts "cowardly, horrific, and simply unacceptable in the IU community."
"As all our students should know, Indiana University is committed to creating a safe, inclusive environment," Shrivastav said. "No harm or injustice can be solved through hate."
University spokesman Chuck Carney said in an email to IndyStar thatWhitten is "deeply concerned about these events and has met with students and other members of the community to address them."Carney added Shrivastav's statement reflects theviews of the presidentand the entire university leadership.
Swastikas, slurs, icons vandalized around IU campus and Bloomington
The string of antisemiticincidents at IU this school year began shortly after students arrived on campus for the fall semester. Mostinvolved vandalism, such asmezuzahs being ripped from the doors of Jewish students in residence halls. Some wererepeatedly damaged ordestroyed.
Other Jewish students weretargets of slurs and harassment. One womanexperienced what Silberberg described as "terrible, terrible harassment"from otherson her dorm floor. Someone drew aswastikaon a dry erase board.
But the students' actions didn't stop there.
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When Rabbi Silberberg and school officials presented an antisemitism awareness training session for students atthe dorm, Silberberg said they were mocked. Educational pamphlets they sharedwere defaced. Some werestuffed in toilets.
Then, over the course of about three weeks in November and December, at least six other swastikaswere painted on buildings and structuresaround Bloomington. The first one was discovered on the first night of Hanukkah, an eight-dayJewish celebration commemorating the rededication of theSecond Temple of Jerusalem.
"I rememberin the days after the swastikas and the mezuzahs being torn off doors, there was a lot of mixed response about whether or not Jewish students should continue to show that they're Jewish," Cohen said. "It's scary."
The most recent flare-up surfaced in February on theGreekRank website where fraternity and sorority members connect to talk about campuslife. Ananonymous user posted a rant calling Jewish students at IU "greedbag slimeballs" and made other disparaging comments including “get them beck (sic) in the gas chambers where they all belong."
Silberberg called them some the worst she had ever seen aimed at students in Bloomington.
"It wasn't just that there were a couple of cowards cowering behind their computers," she said. "What was also scary about it is that they got a lot of 'likes.'"
The antisemitism may have been taken up a notch with the GreekRank post, but Jewish students havefaced isolated or subtle antisemitism for years on the IU campus.
In 2010, rocks were thrown through windows at the Hillel center and the Chabad house. Hebrew books at the school's library also were vandalized.
There also was another incident involving posts about Jewish students at IU onGreek Rank in 2018.
And a fraternity was suspended in 2019followingallegations of a physical assault and antisemitic and racial slurs.
Silberberg and others told IndyStarthey are moreconcerned this year because of the growing number and frequency of such incidents.
"In general, up until this year, this has been a very safe and friendly campus for Jewish students," Silberberg said. "We've had very good experiences, and the university has been very supportive of the Jewish community. This year, we don't know what has caused it or what has happened, but it's really, really, really horrible."
With the escalation of unsettling activity, however, has come a positive flip-side:Non-Jewish students, campusgroups, Greek organizations and manyschool officials have spoken up to condemn the activity.
"After this most recent antisemitic incident on GreekRank we've had an outpouring of support from the university, from students, other student organizations. Just across the board," Silberberg said. "So many people have reached out to us and let us know that this is not acceptable and not something that they will tolerate."
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The swastikas that appeared around town in November and December were quickly covered withpaint.
One of the symbols of hate was replaced by a heart. Another was hidden behind white paint and a newmessage: "Love everyone."
At the site where aswastika was discovered on the first night of Hanukkah, Rabbi Cunin and students from Chabadgathered to light candles.
"We will add in light in the world," Cunin said, "even when people try to add hate and darkness."
Bloomington police investigated the incidents, including checking for security video from homesand businesses near where the swastikas were paintedbut have not identified any suspects,said Capt. Ryan Pedigo.
After the online posts last month, the Panhellenic Association, Interfraternity Council and Multicultural Greek Council condemned the antisemiticincidents in an email to members and said they plan to provide education to push back against the hatred.
Antisemitism "is always just beneath the surface and we vow to use the full force of our councils to seek out and eliminate any anti-Semitic acts in our community,” the email stated. “Our love and support goes out to our Jewish organizations and our Jewish friends.”
Students lead in fight against hate
Perhaps the most visible example of the positive response, however, has been an organic spread of the red mezuzah boxes on campus. Even though putting one up on a doorframe isa smallgesture, it is meaningful for Jewish students, saidEmma Shriberg, an18-year-old freshman from the Chicago area.
"Whenever you see them, it's a nice, positive feeling. Like, hey, there's support here.You're safe in this area," Shriberg said. "People see what's going on, and people are helping us. And that's always just a nice, safe feeling."
The mezuzah project is the workof a campus task force established last semester by the Hillel center in response to the vandalism and other incidents in the dorms.
Shriberg is a member of the group that includes both Jewish and non-Jewish students. They'vepurchased and distributed hundreds of the red boxes, and had to order even more to meet the demand after the incident on GreekRank. But the vision for the task force is much broader.Members want to increase awareness, provide education and training, and take the lead in advocacy.
Put simply: They want to transform the campus into a community where their work isno longer needed.
"I'm proud of the students," saidBen Novorr, student life coordinator at the Hillel center, who is working as an adviser with the task force."But it's work I wish we didn't have to be doing."
Cohen, the sophom*ore from Baltimore, joined the task force in January and is heading up its training and education efforts. He said antisemitism is something he's been aware of, and experienced, throughout his life. Working with the task force is providing an opportunity to make a positive change, Cohen said.
"I was just kind of tired of sitting idly by while letting other people do the advocacy when I knew that I could do it well," he said.
Cohen said most of the group's work so far has focused on planning, but a test run in February for one of a new training programs generatedpositive feedback.
"It's just something that came out of necessity," he said. "I'm proud to see how quickly we were able to get something out there that is already making a difference."
That's important, Cohensaid. While there have not been reports of attacks or physical violence this year at IU, he said "you can't not consider that."
"I think it's been very evident over the last couple of years that words are easily turned to action," he said. "Words, in and of themselves, are just words. But it's scary to think that there's people out there that believe these things, and that could easily resort to violence."
Kaylee Werner, an 18-year-old freshman from Pittsburgh, knows that all too well.
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"When I was going to look at colleges, my mom emphasized theidea that I wanted to look at places that had big Jewish populations, places where Jewsfelt safe in the past," said Werner. "So to me, IU wasa no-brainer."
Acampus visit last spring re-enforced the notion she was making the right decision. But the comfort Werner felt during that visit was dashed soon after arriving for her freshman year and hearing about antisemitic incidents. It was unsettling, she said.And for good reason.
Growing up in Pittsburgh, Werner and her family attended the Tree of Life Synagogue — the site of the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the U.S.
Werner was not at the synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018, but she and her family knew the 11 congregants who were killed and four others who were wounded. A man armed with an assault rifle and several handguns burst in during aservice andopened fire. Two police officers also were wounded by the man, who later said he "wanted all Jews to die."
Now, Werner is heading the new IU task force.
"Getting involved in doing something is kind of what I knew how to do," she said. "So the second that I heard that there was anything going on atthis campus, I immediately reached out to Hillel and got involved."
Werner helped Cohen develop the education program aimed at students. She believes there is value in that type of grassroots outreach.
"Having our task force and having so many incredible allies we've been able to get, not necessarily get ahead of it yet, but we're on top of it," Werner said. "We're working in every way that we can, and every second of the day, to find ways to decrease the effects of the antisemitism that is happening, as well as prevent it from happening in the future."
The positive responsesso far areencouraging, Werner said, but she understands there are no easy or fast solutions.
"We know what we're doing is working," she said. "It's just a long fight."
Contact Tim Evans at 317-444-6204 or tim.evans@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @starwatchtim.
