Union of Jewish Students of France condemns antisemitic graffiti at Paris Nanterre University

The Union of Jewish Students of France (UEJF) has condemned antisemitic messages discovered written in the bathroom of the law building at the Paris Nanterre University.

The graffiti includes a Star of David with “MEDIA” written on top, phrases such as “Hitler, you’re the best”, and other slogans that evoke the concept of Jewish control over the media.

“This antisemitism, unabashed, assumed, in front of thousands of students and in the total indifference, it is every day,” reported the UEJF president Samuel Lejoyeux to Le Figaro Étudiant. “It’s complicated to be a Jewish student…we are constantly brought back to the question of Israel, to the conspiracy that whites dominate everything, and that Jews are ‘super whites”.

“We condemn in the strongest terms and in an absolute manner”, responded Philippe Gervais-Lambony, president of the university “any antisemitic and racist act”. The university then reported that it was cleaning the graffiti and launching an investigation.

According to a survey commissioned by UEJF in 2019, 45% of Jewish and non-Jewish respondents have witnessed antisemitism at school.

In February, a report by France’s Jewish Community Security Service said that antisemitic incidents in France had skyrocketed by 75% in 2021.

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