At April 10 Event, Western Libraries Responds to Antisemitism, Book Vandalism

Western Libraries will hold an event at 10 a.m., Tuesday, April 10 in the fourth floor Reading Room of Wilson Library to showcase new books purchased and donated to replace books damaged during recent incidents of antisemitic vandalism.

Western Libraries invites the campus community to attend the event. Scheduled speakers will include Western President Sabah Randhawa, Dean of Libraries Mark Greenberg and Sandra Alfers, WWU professor of German and director of the Ray Wolpow Institute for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity.

“Western is opposed to everything these hateful acts of vandalism represent, which are all the more distressing because they have occurred in the library, the center of our academic environment, and involve the very objects that represent education itself,” Randhawa said.

Western Libraries will replace the new books, and add other books donated to grow the Libraries’ Jewish Studies collection in response to the vandalism. The event is scheduled to precede Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, which begins at sunset the following day and runs through April 12.

During the two separate incidents in March, seven books were damaged and defaced. University Police are investigating the crimes.

“These demonstrations of hate and intolerance have sparked outrage in our campus community, and this type of behavior has no place on a campus that is unequivocally committed to equity, inclusion, and social justice,” Greenberg said.

For those unable to attend in person, the event will be streamed live at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/wwu-live-events1.