Swastikas painted on Jewish Columbia University professor's office: 'I couldn’t believe what I was seeing'

'I opened the outer door and almost passed out'

Police in New York have opened an investigation into a possible hate crime after a Columbia University professor's office was daubed with two swastikas.

Elizabeth Midlarsky, who researches and teaches about the Holocaust at the university's Teachers College, went to her office on Wednesday afternoon and was horror-struck - antisemitic slurs were also spray painted all over the walls.

“I opened the outer door and almost passed out,” Ms Midlarsky, who is Jewish, told CNN. “I was so shaky, I wasn’t sure I was going to make it.”

The professor’s entryway to her office, which is not shared with other faculty, was vandalised with two big swastikas along with the antisemitic slur “YID” written in red spray paint.

New York Police Department (NYPD) have no suspect as of yet. All of the Teacher’s College buildings require a valid ID to enter and must be affiliated from either Teachers College, Columbia, Barnard, or other affiliated schools.

Thomas Bailey, the president of Columbia University’s Teachers College, condemned the antisemitic incident in a statement.

“We unequivocally condemn any expression of hatred, which has no place in our society,” Mr Bailey said. “We are outraged and horrified by this act of aggression and use of this vile anti-Semitic symbol against a valued member of our community.”

Ms Midlarsky has worked at the Ivy League institution for about 28 years. Unfortunately, the vandalism attack on Wednesday is not the first time the Jewish professor received hateful messages and threats. The professor said she had initially started to receive hate mail—through snail mail and email—over ten years ago when her work in Jewish activism, and research on altruism and the Holocaust became more known. In 2007, the same year the hate mail started pouring in, another person(s) spray painted a swastika in red spray paint on Ms Midlarsky’s office door.

As for this incident, Ms Midlarsky attributes it to the rise of antisemitism in the country. Her office was vandalised nearly one month after a gunman shot and killed 11 people attending a Pittsburgh synagogue service.

“I haven’t done anything, said anything connected to a trend and upsurge in anti-Semitism that we’ve seen in recent years,” she said. “I feel very, very vulnerable.”