HUNTINGTON WOODS, Mich. (TNND) — “Anti-Semitic vandals” targeted the home of University of Michigan Regent Jordan Acker on Monday, the official announced in an Instagram post.
The individuals threw an object through a window of the home Acker shares with his wife and three daughters, as well as appeared to demand through a spray-painted message that the school divest from any companies associated with Israel, the regent said.
“While my eldest daughter ran into our room, frightened by the sound of breaking glass, I ran downstairs, saw the broken window, and then ran outside to find my wife’s car had been graffitied by anti-Semitic vandals,” the post reads.
Photos attached to the post show a broken window with glass shards on the windowsill and floor of the house. Acker also shared an image of a white car with the red-painted message “DIVES[T] FREE PALESTINE” and an upside-down triangle, a symbol often used by people supporting Palestine.
Acker said the actions by the offenders were “Klan-like tactics,” adding that all they do is “harden” his resolve to “continue to do the right thing” for the University of Michigan and people who elected him to the Board of Regents.
We all need to call out this cowardly act attacking my family and my home for what it truly is — terrorism,” he said. “And like we always do in this great nation when we’re confronted with terrorism — I will not let fear win.”
Acker also called on members of the community to “publicly repudiate” what he called “vile anti-Semitic intimidation” and offer “full support” to law enforcement to “root out” who he called “bigots.”
In a statement, the University of Michigan said the incident was a “clear act of antisemitic intimidation.”
“The University of Michigan condemns these criminal acts in the strongest possible terms. They are abhorrent and, unfortunately, just the latest in a number of incidents where individuals have been harassed because of their work on behalf of the university,” the statement reads. “This is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”
The school also called on its community to “come together in solidarity and to firmly reject all forms of bigotry and violence.”
Acker was also targeted in May when protesters staged anti-Israel demonstrations at the homes of multiple University of Michigan officials. Protesters included members of the university’s chapters of Jewish Voice for Peace, Students Allied for Freedom and Equality and the Transparency, Accountability, Humanity, Reparations, Investment, Resistance Coalition.
Have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at rjlewis@sbgtv.com.