Hoax Alert: The Stanford University Swastikas (2023)
In March 2023 we greeted with reports of an alleged ‘anti-Semitic hate crime’ at Stanford University in California with Stanford University reporting on its website in an open letter to students that:
‘We are writing today with the deeply disturbing news that multiple Nazi swastikas and an image of Adolf Hitler were found on a whiteboard affixed to a Florence Moore Hall dormitory room door. A student who resides inside the room was alarmed to find the images on their whiteboard, and reported the incident to residential staff members. The Stanford University Department of Public Safety is investigating the matter and believes the incident could be a crime given that a resident of the room identifies as Jewish and the location of the Nazi swastikas may have been selected to intimidate the occupant.’ (1)
This incident was part of an alleged ‘wave of anti-Semitic vandalism’ on Stanford University’s campus with the ‘Los Angeles Times’ reporting that:
‘Stanford University is investigating a possible hate crime after swastikas and an image of Adolf Hitler were drawn on a whiteboard outside a Jewish student’s dorm room, the third such incident in the last two weeks.’ (2)
While CNN gave the details of the alleged ‘prior incidents’:
‘The drawing was discovered little more than a week after two other instances of antisemitic and racist vandalism on campus.
Multiple swastikas, the N-word and the letters “KKK” that had been scratched into a metal panel in a men’s bathroom in the History Corner of the Main Quad were discovered on February 28, a previous statement from the school said.
And a swastika with “KKK” surrounding it was carved into the wall of a men’s bathroom stall in Wallenberg Hall on March 3, the statement said.
The previous incidents “do not seem to be related” to the drawing in the dormitory, the university said.’ (3)
The key point is that Stanford University themselves believe – and appear to still believe as of this writing in April 2024 – that the drawing of swastikas, the carving of the letters ‘KKK’ and the scratched word ‘Nigger’ in the men’s bathroom in the Main Quad are unrelated to the alleged ‘anti-Semitic hate crimes’ but notice that this isn’t stated by the ‘Los Angeles Times’ article and instead we are led to believe by omission that the incidents are believed to be linked when this is not the case.
The problem with the claim that the March 2023 incident that is labelled is an ‘anti-Semitic hate crime’ is that in the first place we have no evidence that it was committed by an non-jew let alone an ‘anti-Semite’ and/or a ‘Nazi’.
The reason we can make such a claim is that this incident bears an almost uncanny resemblance to the confirmed and very deliberate ‘anti-Semitic hate crime’ hoax perpetuated by Sarah Marshak; who was a jewish student at George Washington University in University Halls of Residence in October 2007. (4)
Marshak was only caught because campus security at George Washington University had the foresight to place hidden cameras in front of Marshak’s door to see if they could catch the perpetrator in action and ended up discovering that Marshak was writing anti-Semitic and pro-Hitler graffiti on her own door then claiming to be a ‘victim’ of an ‘anti-Semitic hate crime’ that she herself perpetuated!
So, no unless there is actual evidence that this was an ‘anti-Semitic hate crime’ and not either student high jinks designed to trigger each other (with no ‘anti-Semitic’ motive) or jewish students committing fake ‘anti-Semitic hate crimes’ against each other and/or themselves ‘to raise awareness about anti-Semitism’ then we can only view any such future claims of similar ‘anti-Semitic hate crimes’ with the utmost scepticism.
After all it is on the accuser to prove their contention not just assume it is so.
References
(1) https://news.stanford.edu/report/2023/03/11/swastikas-found-student-residence/
(2) https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-03-13/swastikas-hitler-antisemitic-drawings-jewish-student-stanford-university
(3) https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/13/us/stanford-university-antisemitic-drawing-investigation/index.html
(4) https://gwhatchet.com/2007/11/05/freshman-who-reported-swastikas-drew-them-as-well/