News Brief

Abraham Foxman and the Rev. Al Sharpton released a joint statement deploring three recent hate acts at Columbia University. Since Oct. 10, two swastikas have been found on campus — one on the office door of a faculty member at Teachers College — and a black professor had a noose tied to the door handle of her office. Foxman, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, and Sharpton, the president of the National Action Network, said in their statement, “The recent epidemic of nooses and swastikas appearing in various places in our communities are acts of hate and are intended to intimidate and instill fear. Such acts are despicable, and we call upon all people of good will – of all races, religions and ethnicities – to stand up and say such acts will not be tolerated.” They asked for legislation that would expand the New York state law that regards drawing a swastika on private property as a hate crime to be broadened to include the hanging of nooses as well. “Nooses, like swastikas, are remnants from a tragic period of history, and the impact of their display still resonates deeply in our souls and in our communities,” the statement said. “They cry to their intended targets, ‘You still do not belong!’ ”