Antisemitic banners displayed at UC Davis prompt campus police investigation

Campus police at UC Davis are investigating a suspected hate incident in which four white men in black clothing displayed antisemitic statements on the campus Sunday, according to university officials.

Chancellor Gary May said in a written statement that campus police determined the act was a "hate incident of concern to our campus community."

"We are sickened that anyone would invest any time in such cowardly acts of hate and intimidation," May said. "We encourage our community to stand against antisemitism and racism."

"White supremacy, hate and intimidation have no place here," he added.

A banner was displayed over a bicycle overpass on Highway 113 and May said there was a similar incident reported a week earlier. The Sacramento Bee reported on the banners and said photos of the banners were shared on social media.

One banner read, "The Holocaust is an anti-white lie" and the other banner said, "Communism is Jewish."

The content of the banners was included in an alert message sent out by police Sunday evening, according to a UC Davis spokesperson.

Congregation Bet Haverim, a nearby Jewish synagogue in Davis, said it requested more police patrols on its campus, but has not reported any vandalism or received any specific threats.

"Seeing such hate so close to our community is undoubtedly upsetting," the synagogue's leadership said in a statement posted on Facebook on Sunday.

Davis Mayor Lucas Frerichs, in a statement posted on social media, said he was "disturbed" by the banners displayed over such a prominent overpass.

"Hate has no place in Davis, and a common denominator to Holocaust deniers is Anti-Semitism," Frerichs said. "As Mayor, I stand in support w/our Jewish community in Davis, UCD & beyond."

The incident is not the first reported act of antisemitism at the campus west of Sacramento.

In September 2019, fliers linked to a white supremacy group were found at the campus. The leaflets were stamped with the logo for the American Identity Movement, formerly known as Identity Evropa. The Anti-Defamation League has labeled the group as white supremacists.

In 2017, fliers with the message "it's okay to be white" were found on the campus, including in cultural safe zones. The same message was plastered on college campuses throughout the country, including at UC Berkeley, Harvard and Tulane.

In 2015, Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi at UC Davis was defaced with swastikas.

Times staff writer Colleen Shalby contributed to this report.