Regent Jordan Acker is Jewish, says no other board members were targeted
The law office of a Jewish member of the University of Michigan Board of Regents was vandalized with pro-Palestinian graffiti on Monday, according to local news reports.
The words “Free Palestine” and “Divest or f— off” were painted in large letters across the Goodman Acker Law Firm in Southfield where Regent Jordan Acker is a partner, according to Detroit News.
“F— you Acker” and “UM kills” also were written across the walls and sidewalk, while red paint was splattered over the door and office sign, according to a video on X by WJBK Fox 2 legal analyst Charlie Langton.
Acker described the vandalism as an act of “antisemitism” after learning none of the other regents were targeted this week.
“If you show up at my house in the middle of the night, while also targeting my other colleagues, it is rude and disgusting, but it is not necessarily antisemitism,” he wrote on X. “If you show up at my business, and not any other regents, you are engaged in antisemitism.”
Southfield Police Chief Elvin Barren said local police and the FBI are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime, according to the Associated Press.
Other regents also have been targeted by pro-Palestinian protesters in recent weeks.
The AP reports more:
On May 21, police broke up a monthlong pro-Palestinian encampment on the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus. About 50 people were cleared from the school’s Diag, known for decades as a site for campus protests. At least four were arrested.
A group of 30 protesters showed up May 15 at the home of Board of Regents Chair Sarah Hubbard and placed stuffed, red-stained sheets on her lawn to resemble body bags. They banged a drum and chanted slogans over a bullhorn.
People wearing face coverings also posted demands at the doors of other board members.
That same night, Acker said a related incident occurred at his home.
“Around 4:40 A.M., a masked intruder came to the door of my family’s home with a list of demands, including defunding the police. My three daughters were asleep in their beds, and thankfully unaware of what transpired,” he wrote in an X post.
The UM Board of Regents refused pro-Palestinian protesters’ demands to divest from companies with connections to Israel.
“I am not interested in divestment from Israel. I am not interested in allowing protestors to have control over the future financial support for our students,” Acker wrote on X in May.
He also told Politico in a May interview the campus protests have left many in the Jewish community wondering what happened to “inclusiveness.”
“A big push at schools like Michigan has been towards this idea that we should center the feelings of students and make sure students feel not just physically safe — but frankly, in a lot of ways, intellectually safe,” he said.
Acker said later: “Our students should be exposed to ideas that are difficult and challenging without them feeling that they’re physically unsafe.”
MORE: U. Michigan anti-Israel protesters promise ‘no rest’
IMAGE: Charlie Langton/X
Please join the conversation about our stories on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, MeWe, Rumble, Gab, Minds and Gettr.