A Jewish professor at Oberlin College was targeted in a hate crime late Wednesday night, according to northeast Ohio station WOIO.
Police told WOIO that computer science department chair Benjamin Kuperman woke up at around 3:40 a.m. when he heard noises on the doorstep of the home he shares with his family. According to Kuperman, he came outside to find the sea shells on his porch smashed and a note tucked behind a mezuzah on his door frame that read “GAS JEWS DIE.”
A mezuzah is a piece of parchment inscribed with Torah verses that is typically affixed to the doorframe of Jewish homes.
Kuperman told WOIO that he had no recent altercations with anyone at the 3,000-person liberal arts college or the surrounding town that shares its name.
“As the General Faculty discussed yesterday, this is a moment of great stress and consternation, both nationally and locally,” school officials said in a statement from Oberlin College obtained by WOIO. “We will need each other’s continued compassion and support at this time; please take care of yourselves, your families, and your loved ones. As our community grieves for the loss of dignity and personal/physical safety that comes with these sorts of vile attacks, these events also can galvanize us in our resolve to fight bigotry and hatred wherever and whenever they occur.”
Dozens of hate crimes and bias incidents have been reported since Election Day.
