Antisemitic banner hung at UC Davis for 2nd time in two weeks

(A7) The University of California, Davis (UC Davis) has launched an investigation into an antisemitic banner that was hung from an overpass this past weekend.

The banner contained antisemitic and racist statements, according to the Daily Democrat.

A statement released by UC Davis on Sunday described witnesses seeing four individuals, described as wearing black clothing and masks, unfurling the offensive banner over the Highway 113 bicycle overpass.

The statement confirmed that the banner contained antisemitic and racist content.

“We are sickened that anyone would invest any time in such cowardly acts of hate and intimidation,” UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May said.

“They have no place here. We encourage our community to stand against antisemitism and racism. Our Principles of Community remind us to ‘strive to build and maintain a culture based on mutual respect and caring.’”

He added: “White supremacy, hate, and intimidation have no place here.”

A recent report detailed a similar incident occurring on UC Davis campus the previous weekend. It was found to be a “hate incident of concern” by university police, but they said it did not rise to the level of a hate crime.

“I was disturbed to see the photos of banners hung from a prominent local overpass with antisemitic messages,” Davis, California Mayor Lucas Frerichs said in a social media statement. “Hate has no place in Davis. As Mayor, I unequivocally stand with our Jewish community in Davis, at UC Davis, and beyond.”

Davis is the most populous city in Yolo County, California. The county’s District Attorney Multi-Cultural Community Council also condemned the incidents.

“The District Attorney’s Multi-Cultural Community Council unequivocally condemns these cowardly and despicable acts of bigotry,” said their statement. “We are assured that the District Attorney takes hate crimes very seriously and will prosecute all hate crime referrals to his office to the extent permitted by law.”

“Government officials must speak out as loudly and emphatically as they can to denounce antisemitic speakers and their evil messages,” the statement added. “Silence is not an acceptable answer to bigotry. Everyone must speak out so that the victims of hate speech know that the community supports them and so the purveyors of hate speech know that their attempts to divide our community are repudiated.”