Swastika graffiti has been found in lavatories at an Oxford University college in the latest incident of anti-Semitism at the university.
As reported by the Telegraph, two of the symbols were reportedly found in the unisex lavatories at Regent’s Park College by a member of staff on Tuesday morning and were removed.
The college condemned the act as “completely unacceptable”.
The incident comes as pro-Palestinian protests at the university intensified this week.
Seventeen activists were arrested by police after occupying an administrative office on Wellington Square on Thursday. All 17 have been released on conditional bail.
An encampment is still in place outside the Pitt Rivers Museum more than two weeks after it was established.
A group of activists have also set up camp outside Radcliffe Camera, the university library.
Earlier this month, students and staff sent a letter to Prof Irene Tracey, the University’s Vice-Chancellor, raising their concerns about antisemitic harassment and a hostile environment on campus ever since Hamas’s 7th October attack on Israel, and the country’s subsequent military response.
The signatories claim that calls for violence are constantly heard in pro-Palestinian protests at Oxford, and that since 7th October some parts of the university have become “no-go area for most Israelis and Jewish people”.
The letter also alleges that when several individuals raised concerns directly with their heads of programmes about the situation, they were “simply advised to leave Oxford”.
Following the discovery of the swastika symbols on Tuesday, Dr Lynn Robson, the dean and safeguarding lead at Regent’s Park College, sent an email stating that “anti-Semitic graffiti” had been found.
In the email, she said: “We do not tolerate any instances of abuse, offensive behaviour, open or covert hostility, directed at others on the grounds of race, religion or belief.”
But Jewish students at the university have criticised the college for not doing more to find the perpetrators.
Harry Hatwell, 26, a student at St John’s, said: “Their response reeks of, ‘This happened, but let’s all move on’.
Another student, from Regent’s Park College, told the newspaper: “It’s taken a massive toll – many fellow Jewish and Israeli students are struggling academically as a result of the atmosphere.”
In response to the criticism, the college said it would be “irresponsible” to give details of its investigation in public.
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