Jewish fraternity house vandalized twice during weekend

Updated: Nov. 5 at 9:46 a.m. EST

AEPi, a historically Jewish fraternity house near Temple’s campus, was vandalized twice during the weekend, Temple President John Fry wrote in a statement to the university community Monday.

“While incidents like this are deeply unsettling, they will not impact the collective resolve of our community to support Jewish life at Temple University and to respond decisively to antisemitism,” Fry wrote in the statement. “Anyone in need of support is encouraged to utilize [resources] which have been identified by Temple’s office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, Advocacy and Leadership.”

On Monday, Temple’s Department of Public Safety released a post on social media about two incidents of vandalism. The first, which occurred on Nov. 1, involved an individual painting graffiti on the residence at 17th and Berks, though the post didn’t specify what the graffiti depicted.

Temple Police told The Temple News that no additional information will be released at this time.

In the second incident, an individual wrote “anti-semitic graffiti” on the residence at 9:55 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3, according to the statement. 

The phrase “Israel [equals] genocide” was written on the building in one of the incidents.

“The university can take disciplinary action against students who violate the Student Conduct Code, and this would be in addition to any charges by police,” Temple Police wrote in the post. “As of now, no arrests have been made but the incident is being actively investigated. Temple Police is working with Philadelphia Police, which is the lead investigative agency, to identify the individuals involved in these incidents.”

The fraternity has been targeted in four different acts of vandalism or trespassing since early May. TUPD and PPD have worked together to investigate the incidents, The Temple News previously reported.

Fry’s statement was the second he has made since officially taking over as Temple’s president on Nov. 1. The first came Monday morning and congratulated Temple Votes for their recent campus distinction, and encouraged all Temple community members to vote on Tuesday.

“It is imperative that every member of the Temple community feels safe and welcome to live, learn and work here,” Fry wrote in the second statement. “We will never waver from our commitment to providing an inclusive environment for all our students, faculty and staff.”