HEFNU Statement on Antisemitic Vandalism
April 22, 2025
Last Monday during the Passover holiday, several individuals plastered antisemitic slogans and symbols across the facades and grounds of two buildings on the Evanston campus of Northwestern University, threatening the school’s “commitment to excellent teaching, innovative research and the personal and intellectual growth of its students in a diverse academic community.”
HEFNU, its Director, Advisory Board, and Academic Council, see the use of hate speech on a college campus – in this case antisemitic hate speech - as an attempt to intimidate the entire university community. One of the buildings vandalized houses dozens of departments and programs, including the HEFNU. The targeting of this building may have a chilling effect on scholarly debate and inquiry – not only on Holocaust Studies but on other fields of study as well.
Founded by Holocaust survivor Theodore “Zev” Weiss, HEFNU’s mission is to advance university-level Holocaust education and scholarship. HEFNU support’s Northwestern’s efforts to hold accountable those responsible. HEFNU stands by its principles: to value scholarly excellence and open discourse in the multi- and inter-disciplinary field of Holocaust Studies; to encourage diverse views; and to support the right of those associated with HEFNU to articulate beliefs and positions without fear of retribution or censure.