A number of anti-Semitic posters have been plastered across the campus of Birmingham University, including one depicting Adolf Hitler emblazoned with the slogan “Hitler was Right”. The West Midlands Police are investigating
The posters were discovered by Students’ Guild Education Officer Izzy Lenga, who posted a photo to Twitter. She commented: “For those who don’t think antisemitism is a serious issue, these were plastered over campus on Tues”.
The poster, and others like it, have since been removed from campus by the police who are investigating the matter as a hate crime. They will be forensically investigating the posters, as well as examining CCTV footage and talking to students and staff in an attempt to track down the perpetrators.
The posters are part of a wider trend of increasing anti-Semitism which seems to be taking hold across the country. In Stamford Hill, London, police are investigating after graffiti saying “death to da jew” was found scrawled across a window ledge.
A spokesman from the Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “This is a worrying and disturbing thing to see at a British university at a time when the number of recorded antisemitic incidents is rising, and when Jewish people are actively being targeted and killed in Europe and beyond.
“We have heard from a Jewish student organisation that they’ve had students express their discomfort and alarm at seeing a poster of Hitler suggesting support for Nazism. The reaction of the police and university must be serious and tough in order to reassure Jews and non-Jews alike that this will not be tolerated. The perpetrators of his hate crime must be found and brought to justice with zero tolerance.”
Sergeant David Cotter from West Midlands Police told the Campaign Against Antisemitism: “We take reports of hate crime extremely seriously and are working closely with the university to make it a safe place for everyone who works and studies there. This kind of behaviour is offensive and completely unacceptable and our investigation to identify those responsible is already progressing.”
Deborah Walker, Head of Communications at the University of Birmingham said: “We unreservedly condemn racist graffiti on campus. We have reported the matter to West Midlands Police and are working with them to identify those involved.
“Our University is a community of 150 nations and we are proud to be situated in a vibrant multi-cultural city. Discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated. We are therefore actively working with a range of groups to bring people together and ensure that our university is a place where diversity is celebrated and everyone plays their part in creating a vibrant and welcoming community.”