The statement “Holocaust 2.0” was reportedly written on the grounds of the University of Maryland’s campus during a pro-Palestinian demonstration held on Thursday, according to the Anti-Defamation League’s Jonathan Allen.
A clip shared by Allen showed pro-Palestinian demonstrators shouting, “there is only one solution, intifada revolution.” Allen also shared a picture of the “Holocaust 2.0” statement while highlighting that the incident occurred at a “university with the 4th largest Jewish student population in the country—over 6,000 students (20% of campus).”
I never thought I’d see this @UofMaryland, my alma mater.
Students chanting “there is only one solution – intifada revolution.”
“Holocaust 2.0” written on campus.
A university with the 4th largest Jewish student population in the country—over 6,000 students (20% of campus). pic.twitter.com/7hVVwkxPjq
— Jonathan Allen ✡️ (@jonathanallen44) November 10, 2023
Other political statements like “stop genocide” and “save Gaza (not from Hamas from Israel)” were also written in chalk on the campus’ sidewalks, NBC Washington noted. (RELATED: Police Arrest 20 Ivy League Students At Pro-Palestine Protest)
The University of Maryland is investigating who is responsible for a series of antisemitic messages discovered after students held a demonstration protesting the Israel-Hamas war. https://t.co/7mpg99Kbfk
— NBC4 Washington (@nbcwashington) November 10, 2023
“Now that I know what some people on this campus think, I don’t feel as safe walking around especially alone or especially at night,” one Jewish student told WUSA9.
The university condemned “hateful, and antisemitic sentiment expressed” during the protest organized by Students for Justice in Palestine and informed the public that police had opened an investigation, The Jerusalem Post reported.
The state’s Hillel, local Chabad, and the ADL’s Washington, D.C., branch released a joint statement saying the graffiti “is deeply troubling whether it was meant to trivialize the Holocaust or seen as a direct threat against Jewish students.”
@MarylandHillel, Chabad Jewish Center at UMD, and ADL Washington, D.C. released the following statement today. https://t.co/lhlTyARuSJ pic.twitter.com/s3GtqCnhiz
— ADL Washington DC (@ADL_WashDC) November 10, 2023
This incident also comes on the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night when Jews in Nazi Germany suffered government endorsed pogroms in 1938.