The Metropolitan Police Department said Monday it is investigating a break-in and vandalism at a George Washington University fraternity in which a replica of a sacred Jewish text was damaged.
The break-in and vandalism occurred early Sunday at the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity on 22nd Street NW, said Officer Hugh Carew, an MPD public information official.
A replica paper Torah scroll used in fraternity ceremonies was defaced with laundry detergent, and hot sauce was smeared on walls and appliances, police said.
The school’s “Police Department is actively working with the Metropolitan Police Department in the investigation to identify the perpetrators,” university President Thomas J. LeBlanc said Monday in a community-wide email.
“As our investigation continues, we have increased police patrols in the area around the TKE house and have several GW staff staying in the house,” Mr. LeBlanc said, asking students with any information about the incident to contact campus police.
Chris Osborne, the fraternity’s Alpha Pi chapter president, told The Washington Times that the vandalim “was an act of hate and an antisemitism against specifically our Jewish brothers and the larger Jewish community.”
An image of the paper scroll — considered a replica because Torah scrolls used in worship are hand-lettered on parchment — was widely tweeted Sunday.
The fraternity first established a chapter at the university in Foggy Bottom in 1935. It was suspended in 2014 after a marijuana arrest. It returned to the school in 2018 and was chartered again the following year.
The Alpha Pi chapter has 40 members, of which Mr. Osborne said 10 identify as Jewish.
“We’re just trying to process what happened and ultimately come together and get through this together. And that’s hard,” said Mr. Osborne, a senior majoring in political science from Columbus, Ohio.
Mr. LeBlanc said in the email he was “appalled” by the “despicable act of antisemitic vandalism.”
“I condemn all such acts of antisemitism and all forms of hatred, discrimination, and bias in our community. Any act of antisemitism is an attack on the entire GW community and cannot, and will not, be tolerated,” the university president said.
The Chabad Colonials, a branch of the Chabad Lubavitch movement, announced on Instagram plans for a 5 p.m. Monday Torah procession and solidarity rally starting at the fraternity’s house.
The national office of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity issued a statement: “This attack on Greek Life and display of Anti-Semitism has no place in our society. We take great pride in our Fraternity and its commitment to supporting members of every race, religion, and creed. Our chapter has been fully cooperating with local authorities and the university to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice.”
Fraternity national spokesman Alex D. Baker said the 122-year-old fraternity has 226 active chapters and 10,000 undergraduate members.
Other Jewish groups associated with the GWU campus issued statements of solidarity with the TKE fraternity, according to campus newspaper The Hatchet, which first reported the incident.
The incident also drew a statement of support from the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
“Law enforcement must investigate this appalling incident for a possible hate motive,” CAIR national spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said in a statement. “We stand in solidarity with all those targeted by hatred and bigotry.”
Anyone who has information about the attack is asked to contact the Metropolitan Police tip line at 202-727-9099.
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