Swastikas at UC Davis the latest in Sacramento-area antisemitic acts: ‘It just keeps happening’
Hateful antisemitic images and slurs have been found in public places seven times in the past seven weeks in the Sacramento area, including drawings of Nazi swastikas discovered Thursday on the University of California, Davis campus.
But those aren’t the only ones. Homes, a school and a place of worship in Carmichael were littered with similar “Aryan Nation” flyers last fall. A man was arrested, convicted and sentenced in March for committing those hate crimes.
Then, similar anti-Jewish leaflets were found again in July at homes in the Fair Oaks area. Earlier that month, similar hate material was found in two Modesto neighborhoods near a synagogue.
“This stuff just keeps happening. It’s like a waterfall, just a continuous stream of it,” said Bruce Pomer, president of the Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region. “And I’ve never seen it this bad.”
He said hate groups are proliferating with unfiltered hate speech spreading on social media, putting once considered fringe extremist groups under the glare of mainstream media. He worries more of these hateful acts might push others to do the same or adopt extremist views.
But Pomer believes the public cannot keep quiet about these “gross” acts. He said choosing not to speak out against hate crimes is just a de facto way of condoning this type of behavior, which also targets other communities.
“It’s not just us. It’s other diverse groups, too,” Pomer told The Sacramento Bee. “We’re in this together.”
He said this type of hateful rhetoric permeates through the community and can be a precursor or a catalyst for violence or extremist activity.
“I’m fearful something is going to happen in this community at some point,” Pomer said on Friday.
Rising number of hate crimes
Hate crimes reported last year in California were the sixth-highest ever recorded, the state Department of Justice announced in June. The number of hate crimes were the highest California has seen since the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks more than 20 years ago.
Law enforcement officials reported 78 hate crimes in Sacramento County during 2021, triple the number that occurred in 2020 and more than any other year since 2003, according to data from the California Department of Justice. The most common type of hate crime reported last year was vandalism or destruction of property, which accounted for 27 incidents.
Antisemitic acts reached an all-time high last year with 2,717 incidents of assault, harassment and vandalism reported the Anti-Defamation League. The anti-hate organization began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979.
Acts of antisemitic vandalism increased 14 percent last year; from 751 reported in 2020 to 853 in 2021. The Defamation League said swastikas, which are generally interpreted as symbols of antisemitic hatred, were present in 578 of these reported incidents.
Recent antisemitic acts in the Sacramento area
The most recent incident of antisemitic vandalism occurred at UC Davis, where the swastika drawings were found in Alder Hall, which is a residence hall for first-year students. UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May said the graffiti was immediately removed.
In late August, the UC Davis Police Department launched an investigation after antisemitic banners were displayed on a campus overpass. May called those responsible for the anti-Jewish acts “cowards” that continue to try to intimidate students.
“We know messages of condemnation are not enough,” May said in a message to the campus community. “We will continue to meet with Jewish students, faculty and staff to not only show our support but talk through any solutions.”
May also said higher education officials are seeing a rise in antisemitism at many other universities in California.
Anti-Jewish vandalism also found at Sacramento State
In early September, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg gathered community groups and elected leaders for a news conference to denounce an image of a swastika found the previous evening on a classroom wall at California State University, Sacramento. They also were denouncing another swastika image found the following morning along J Street near the Sacramento State campus entrance.
After that early September news conference, Steinberg said each of these incidents seems to embolden others to commit similar acts of white supremacy. But he said these incidents can’t be ignored, and the community has to come together and speak out against them.
“So our counter is to make sure our voices are not just louder than theirs but that our voices are more consistent,” Steinberg said. “And that we never give in.”
Another disturbing act of vandalism occurred in mid-September, when maintenance crews found a large swastika and an antisemitic slur carved into a putting green at the Cherry Island Golf Course operated by Sacramento County. A county spokesman said the vandalism must have been committed at some point overnight when the golf course was closed.
On Sept. 29, Sacramento State President Robert S. Nelsen announced that a school employee found yet another swastika defacing a sign in the campus Arboretum. Nelsen also asked the campus community to “continuously and vociferously condemn hate speech and hate symbols.”
Law enforcement officials have not announced any arrests or suspects who have been identified in connection with the antisemitic incidents reported in the past seven weeks in the Sacramento area.
