Dead Rat Found on Apparent Star of David at Stanford

A dead rat was found on an apparent Star of David on a bench at Stanford University on Jan. 29.

The student-run Stanford Daily reported that University President Marc Tessier-Lavigne said at a Jan. 30 town hall that what was found on the bench “contained symbols that are unclear in intention but could be taken as being anti-Semitic in nature.”

He added: “Any crude symbol that can be taken as or can be assumed to be an expression of anti-Semitism is not welcome on our campus. We stand against anti-Semitism and all expressions of hatred against others.”

University spokesperson E.J. Miranda told the Daily that the police are investigating the matter.

Stanford’s Jewish Student Association Board said in a statement to the Daily, “We are horrified to see what appears to be another act of hatred on our campus, fitting within a broader pattern of instances that have threatened racial, ethnic, and religious minority communities this year. It is imperative that Stanford take meaningful steps to prioritize the safety of the Jewish community, alongside all those who are targeted by hatred and bigotry.”

In 2018, then-third-year student Hamzeh Daoud resigned from his position as resident adviser after he threatened to “physically fight” Zionists in a Facebook post. In May 2019, the Jewish Student Association Board wrote an op-ed in the Daily decrying flyers of satirist Eli Valley’s cartoons found on campus that “portray Jews offensively and grossly mischaracterize Jewish values, in their residential environments.”