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WEST BLOOMFIELD, MI – The personal home of University of Michigan President Santa Ono was vandalized Monday on the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.
Ono’s home in West Bloomfield, not his university-provided home on South University Avenue in Ann Arbor, was defaced with spray-painted messages such as “coward” and “intifada,” the Arabic word for uprising that Palestinian activists use to mean the “shaking off” of Israel.
The vandalism was confirmed by university spokeswoman Colleen Mastony, as well as Regent Jordan Acker in a thread on X. Multiple regents also confirmed the home of Chief Investment Officer Erik Lundberg was also defaced with similar messages, though it is unclear where his house is.
“To those who have committed this act, you have helped no Palestinian, you have not committed Israel and Hamas to a ceasefire,” Acker wrote. “Your teachers have failed you, and your behavior is discrediting to your cause.”
Acker’s law firm was vandalized in June with messages of “UM kills.”
Mastony directed questions on the investigation to West Bloomfield police.
A release from that police department states the vandalism appears to be a targeted attack. Anyone with information may contact the department at 248-975-8905.
Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard also confirmed the vandalism incidents, saying his department suspects “much of this coming from outsiders.”
“(We’ve) been very clear on this topic, but it bears repeating. If you come at our Jewish community, or for that matter anyone in our Oakland County community, we will stand in front of them to protect them and we will come for you,” Bouchard said in a statement.
There were also demonstrations on the Ann Arbor campus on Oct. 7, one year after Hamas attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 mostly civilian people and taking about 250 hostages. Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israel’s subsequent invasion has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Associated Press.
On Monday, more than 200 pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in front of the Rackham Graduate Building to begin a march through campus, said University of Michigan Division of Public Safety and Security Deputy Chief Melissa Overton.
A protester was arrested, Overton said, leading to a group surrounding officers and obstructing the movement of a patrol car. There were multiple reports that pepper spray was used on the crowd, and Overton noted that “officers may employ crowd control measures if deemed necessary to manage the situation, make arrests or ensure the safety of individuals involved.”
The person police arrested has been released, Overton said. The incident will be submitted to the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office for review, she said.
The pro-Palestinian student group Tahrir Coalition confirmed its “comrade that was taken in by UMPD has been released.”
“It is no shock that the university continues to tread on our movement, as they are committed to the Palestine exception, as they amp up the repression they use against us,” the group said in a statement. “Despite this, our movement is unstoppable, and we will continue, until liberation.”
Monday’s demonstration was another from the group, supporters of Palestine and opponents of Israel seen in the last year. The protesters have demanded the university divest its $18-billion endowment from any Israeli companies or weapons manufacturers that arm the Israeli military.
The Board of Regents has repeatedly said it will not divest in order to protect the university from political pressures. The university has investments in funds that may include companies based in Israel, according to an “Endowment 101″ fact sheet, but these sorts of investments account for less than 0.1% of the total endowment.
Read more: 5 things to know about the University of Michigan’s $17.9B endowment
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