Harvard Police Investigate After Mezuzah Temporarily Misses From Student's Door

The Harvard University Police Department is investigating after a mezuzah went missing from the door of a Jewish freshman dorm in Thayer Hall early Tuesday morning.

The mezuzah, a parchment scroll containing Torah verses that is traditionally placed outside Jewish homes, appeared to have been affixed to the front door with an adhesive material. HUPD spokesman Steven G. Catalano would not say whether authorities currently believe the mezuzah was forcibly removed from the front door or whether it dislodged itself.

Catalano wrote in a statement that the mezuzah was found on the floor at Thayer “about three doors down from the student’s room and returned to its owner.”

“This incident remains under investigation,” Catalano wrote.

Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi of Chabad of Harvard wrote in a statement to the Crimson that “we must recognize this incident for what it truly is: a hate crime.”

“Tearing down a mezuzah sends a message of intimidation and erasure,” Zarchi added. “This is not just vandalism; it is an attack on the very identity of the Harvard Jewish community.”

Zarchi, however, provided no evidence that the mezuzah was forcibly removed from the door of the student’s home.

Chabad, one of Harvard’s Jewish centers, revealed the incident in a post on X Tuesday morning and demanded a full investigation by HUPD.

“In light of the shocking incident that occurred last night in Harvard Yard, where a Jewish student’s mezuzah was ripped from her room shortly after 2 a.m., we call on the university and law enforcement to immediately investigate this hate crime,” Chabad on X wrote. “The perpetrator must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

In response to a request for comment, university spokesman Jonathan L. Swain said that “every student should feel welcome in our Harvard community.”

“The University will not tolerate actions that violate this commitment,” he added.

Tuesday’s incident comes after a series of anonymous acts over the past semester, including the appearance of anti-Semitic and anti-Palestinian posters on Harvard’s campus and anti-Semitic messages on Sidechat, a social media app that allows users to post messages anonymously.

Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 has repeatedly spoken out about the continuing divisions on the Harvard campus following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. In the months since, Jewish and Muslim members of Harvard have criticized the university for its handling of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia on campus.

In June, the presidential task forces to combat anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bias released their preliminary recommendations, both of which noted that students faced discrimination on campus based on their identities and political views after October 7.

Chabad co-president Alex L.S. Bernat ’25, editor of the Crimson Editorial, wrote in a statement Tuesday night that the destruction or defacement of property, especially religious property, “is profoundly contrary to the values I hope Harvard students uphold.”

“I am so saddened that any first-year student begins his or her Harvard experience, especially after last academic year, with the fear and trauma of having his or her religious practice threatened,” he wrote.

—Staff writer Michelle N. Amponsah can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @mnamponsah.

—You can reach Joyce E. Kim, managing editor, at [email protected]. Follow her on X at @joycekim324.