Swastika graffiti was discovered to have been painted on the exterior of a historically Jewish fraternity house at Emory University in Atlanta on Sunday, hours after the observance of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur ended, according to police and university reports. Now, the anti-Semitic graffiti is being investigated at the private school, with officials stating that vandalism will not be tolerated.
Members of Alpha Epsilon Pi discovered the swastikas, with two painted on the front of their chapter house, and graffiti in the early hours of Sunday morning, Miami Herald reported. A photo featuring the international Jewish fraternity's house being defaced with the offensive art was circulating on social media Monday, according to Business Insider.
University President James Wagner called the "abhorrent act" an offense against the entire university, stating that patrols around the fraternity house had been increased and the graffiti was being investigated, according to a statement released on Sunday night.
"It is an offense against a Jewish fraternity and the Jewish members of our community, and it is a repugnant, flagrant emblem of anti-Semitism," Wagner said in a statement.
"Among the many pernicious things the swastika symbolizes, in the last century it represented the most egregious and determined undermining of intellectual freedom and truth-seeking," Wagner added. "In short, its appearance on our campus is an attack against everything for which Emory stands."
In a separate statement released by the Emory chapter of AEPi, the fraternity said it is working with the university to determine the next steps and to "ensure that intolerable acts of hate, such as this, will never occur again," UK MailOnline reported.
Additionally, the Emory community was asked to wear blue by the Student Government Association on Monday in condemnation of the "reprehensible act of bigotry," the student newspaper The Emory Wheel reported.
By Sunday night, the swastikas had been painted over, and officers were patrolling in front of the fraternity house, WSB-TV reported
Last month, swastikas were also drawn on the eighth floor of the main campus library, according to the Emory Wheel, though police have not said whether the incidents are connected
Alpha Epsilon Pi is a global Jewish fraternity with headquarters in Indianapolis, according to a description on its website. Emory is a private school of 14,500 students just outside the city limits.
