French ministers decried graffiti at Université Paris Nanterre calling for a Jewish students’ union to be ousted from universities, promising the action would not go unanswered.
“UEJF (Union of Jewish Students of France) out of our universities” and “Zionists=fascists,” read graffiti scrawled on the street, shared in a picture on X/Twitter Thursday by the union.
The UEJF said the graffiti was a crude form of antisemitism and that it would continue representing Jewish students against anti-Jewish hatred.
“To those who dream of universities without Jews: We will not leave,” said the union.
« UEJF hors de nos facs. Sionistes = fascistes. »Ce tag vu à Nanterre est une forme brute d’antisémitisme.À ceux qui rêvent d’universités sans Juifs : nous ne partirons pas. L’UEJF continuera de défendre les étudiants juifs et de combattre la haine, partout où elle s’exprime. pic.twitter.com/TaIIiKIfEN
— UEJF (@uejf) April 10, 2025
The graffiti was removed by the university within a few hours, the UEJF said on Friday. The university had also filed a police complaint, according to French National Education Minister Élisabeth Borne, who on Thursday called for the punishment of the perpetrators.
“Antisemitism is a crime,” Borne said on social media. “The graffiti targeting Jewish students on the Nanterre University campus is intolerable.”
Higher Education Minister Philippe Baptiste echoed Borne, also decrying the graffiti as antisemitism.
The European Jewish Congress issued a statement of support for UEJF, saying Jewish students had a right to be on every campus and that “Equating Zionism with fascism is not only false; it is antisemitic,”