On Friday, Oct. 22, the Jewish population of Austin came under attack by hateful messages spread throughout the city. The first of these messages were found at Anderson High School, but more were subsequently found in other parts of the city. A Jewish senior at Anderson was among the first to see the antisemitic graffiti that covered the campus.

“I drove into school Friday morning and saw the graffiti, and felt like it was best to go home. It was too upsetting for me to feel comfortable walking into school,” the Anderson senior (who will remain anonymous for safety reasons) said. “I talked with the police officer that morning and we both knew how upsetting and disgusting it was, and that if I felt better to go home that would be okay.”

Hate symbols such as swastikas were painted on the tennis shed, as well as the parking lot. Other graffiti on the campus consisted of slurs against the LGBTQIA+ community and the Black community. This has been harmful to the Jewish students in their learning environment.

“I have a lot more anxiety going into school now, there’s always a thought in the back of my head about what these people could do next and it’s really intimidating,” the senior said. “It’s just really hard having your learning environment vandalized when that’s the place you go to learn and grow as a person.”

This is not the first time this has happened, and while the school has plans to implement a new security system, many students do not feel like enough has been done.

“Anderson hasn’t said anything to the students about what they’re doing or if anything’s going to change, or address what happened. They sent an email to the parents but that was all. I felt like they should have addressed it better,” the source said. “This is the fourth year it’s happened at Anderson, and I’ve been here for four years but this is the first time I’ve heard about it. This shows how little they talk about it.”

In addition to the events at Anderson, a MoPac overpass had an antisemitic sign hanging on it. The sign read “Vax the Jews” and was located near the Jewish Community Center (JCC). The surrounding area has a dense Jewish population, and many use the JCC for attending synagogues, school, and recreational purposes. As acts of antisemitism become more frequent, the Jewish community hopes for safety and the end of these attacks.