Vandals graffiti San Francisco Hillel with message evoking ancient battle between Muslims and Jews

Vandals spray-painted the Hillel building at San Francisco State University with a slogan referencing an ancient battle in which  Muslim troops defeated a group of Jewish fighters. 

The perpetrators in San Francisco also tried to break into the building, according to the  Jewish Community Relations Council of the Bay Area. 

The sign on the front of the San Francisco Hillel was spray-painted late Sunday or early Monday with the word “Khaybar,” which is chanted at protests against Israel around the world, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The word refers to a battle between Muslims and local Jews on the Arabian Peninsula at the dawn of Islam that ended with the slaughter of the Jewish tribes. Underneath the word, vandals drew symbols for communism and anarchism. 

The center’s garage door was covered with graffiti in large capital letters reading, “death to Western imperialism!” 

Tyler Gregory, CEO of the local JCRC, called the incident an antisemitic attack and linked it to what he described as a pattern of hateful acts against Jews at universities.

“The Hillel House is a vibrant community center and should be a place where Jewish students feel safe and comfortable, especially as antisemitism continues to soar on campus,” he said in a statement. “It is imperative that our elected officials and education leaders dramatically curb the antisemitic rhetoric at campus protests and in college classrooms that inevitably leads to attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions.”

Tensions around Israel have skyrocketed on college campuses since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which launched the war in Gaza. Pro-Palestinian protesters at a number of schools have targeted Hillels, which are the center of Jewish life on many campuses, owing to their support for Israel.