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More Anti-Semitic Fliers Found At UIC

By DNAinfo Staff | March 17, 2017 2:05pm | Updated on March 20, 2017 8:42am
 Anti-Semitic fliers were found on the University of Illinois at Chicago campus this week.
Anti-Semitic fliers were found on the University of Illinois at Chicago campus this week.
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DNAinfo File; Facebook

UNIVERSITY VILLAGE — A series of anti-Semitic fliers found on the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago, including over the weekend, have been condemned by students and campus leaders.

The fliers were found last week as well as Saturday in a variety of locations around campus.

"Ending white privilege ... starts with ending Jewish privilege," reads one flier that  includes a drawing of a pyramid that claims that Jews make up a disproportionate share of the "top 1 percent" of the U.S. even though they represent a small percent of the overall population.

Another flier, posted to student Eva Zeltser's Facebook page after it was found Saturday, claims Jews get "special Privilege when it comes to top universities."

Yet another notes how it's OK to believe "crazy things" like the idea "we never went to the moon."

"But when  you question the 6 million" — a reference to the number of Jews killed during the Holocaust — "they put you in jail in 17 countries." The flier includes a link to a wikipedia page listing laws against Holocaust denial.

Another flier likened the Gaza strip to a concentration camp like Auschwitz and included the hastags #BlackLivesMatter and #StandWithPalestine.

Zeltser said in an initial Facebook post after the first fliers were found last week that "my heart is broken." On Saturday, she posted pictures of the additional fliers found and encouraged others to share them, writing, "Well, here we are again. ... We must make a difference."

UIC Chancellor Michael Amiridis and other university officials issued a statement condemning the fliers last week.

"Today, anti-Semitic posters were found on campus that defame, insult and negatively portray Jewish members of our campus community," read the UIC statement, which was issued Wednesday. "Such actions do not reflect the values we hold as a community. Acts that invoke hatred or violence toward members of our community will not be tolerated on our campus."

The statement continued: "This event makes it necessary for us to reaffirm our collective commitment to two fundamental principles: the first is the importance of tolerance, inclusion and diversity to our university community and the second is the right to free expression that ensures we are a place of open inquiry and learning."

The UIC Levine Hillel center praised the university response and said in a statement that, "Based on the dramatic rise of anti-Semitism on college campuses, this could have happened anywhere and universities need to have zero tolerance for anti-Semitism. Hillel is here to support and connect with any students or faculty who are impacted by this or any other incident, and we will work with UIC to develop proactive ways to address these issues."

Another group, Students for Justice in Palestine at UIC, also spoke out against the fliers.

"UIC SJP unequivocally condemns such vile attacks against vulnerable communities such as the Jewish community in this country," the group posted on Facebook. " ... The current political climate of the United States and the larger world has emboldened those who have previously kept their disgusting hatred relatively quiet. From the Muslim ban to the targeting of Jews and the attacks on undocumented immigrants and much more, this is the reality which we increasingly find ourselves facing. ... UIC SJP remains committed to mobilizing against racism and white supremacy in all their manifestations, including anti-semitism."

There have been a series of anti-Semitic incident across the country, including bomb threats made to Jewish Community Centers in Hyde Park and elsewhere. Other Chicago universities, including the University of Chicago, have seen white nationalist and racist posters pop up on campus.