A sukkah that was residing on the Kansas State University (KSU) campus was vandalized on Friday evening.
The sukkah was built on October 3 and was intended for Jewish students to gather and eat during Sukkot, but on Friday graduate student Glen Buickerood, a Hillel liaison, noticed that the “the Sukkah was gone.”
“The chairs and tables stood where the Sukkah had been,” Buickerood wrote in an email to campus leaders. “The stakes were still in the ground. Stakes that had been tied to the Sukkah had been pulled out.”
The Sukkah ended up being wrapped around Buickerood’s car, which damaged the vehicle. Buickerood added in his email that he believes that the sukkah was an act of anti-Semitic vandalism.
“This was a direct response to what the Sukkah stands for and represents,” Buickerood wrote.
KSU President Richard Myers issued a statement condemning the incident.
“There is no place in our community for hateful, criminal reactions to religious expression,” said Myers “Many who live or work on our campuses, particularly those of the Jewish community, are experiencing significant pain and fear as a result of this act. Our hearts go out to those in the K-State family who have been negatively affected.”
The sukkah has since been rebuilt and on Wednesday the campus will be hosting a Sukkot Solidarity Dinner as a response to the vandalism.
According to an Anti-Defamation League (ADL) study in April, anti-Semitic incidents on college campuses increased by 86% by that point in 2017. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt is quoted on the site as saying, “Clearly, we have work to do and need to bring more urgency to the fight. At ADL, we will use every resource available to put a stop to anti-Semitism. But we also need more leaders to speak out against this cancer of hate and more action at all levels to counter anti-Semitism.”
