Messages expressing support for Hamas and denouncing Israel’s ongoing military campaign in the Gaza Strip were spray-painted across the University of Colorado early Friday, prompting a rebuke from university officials and Jewish students.
Images of some of the graffiti were posted in the replies of a CU Police Department social media post addressing the incident. Police spokeswoman Nicole Mueksch on Saturday morning said officers were investigating the acts, which involved an unknown number of vandals.
One message on a sidewalk near the Kittredge residence halls read “HAMAS IS RESISTANCE” and was accompanied by a downward-pointing triangle.
The messages also included vulgar criticisms of Israel and endorsements of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement as well as accusations that Israel has “blood in (its) hands” and is “committing another Holocaust” in Gaza.
Mueksch said four or five buildings were vandalized in addition to pedestrian walkways. She said the university has seen an uptick in complaints about antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents since October 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack across Israel’s southern border and Israel responded by bombing and invading Gaza.
CU Boulder Hillel, a Jewish student organization, wrote in a statement Friday that its members were “deeply disturbed by the antisemitic vandalism and graffiti” and that the messages were inconsistent with the values of the university community.
“As antisemitism continues to rise at colleges and universities and throughout our country, there is no place at the University of Colorado for hate or intimidation of any kind directed toward Jewish students,” the organization wrote.
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The university condemned the graffiti in its own statement, also referring to the messages as “antisemitic” and warning that they violated the school’s free expression policies as well as state law.
“This type of conduct is not a productive way to address the difficult conversations facing our society today in a respectful and civil manner,” the school’s statement reads.
Mueksch said the graffiti was still being removed as of Saturday morning, and the cost of the removal has yet to be determined.
Members of the public with information about the incident may contact police anonymously online or at 303-492-6666, referencing case number 2024-2190.
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