Local police have joined the investigation into the incident at all-women school which is located in Northhampton, about 100 miles west of Boston.
Students reported finding at least one swastika on a wall in an academic building on Thursday. Police then searched the entire campus and found a total of eight swastikas drawn with markers on three buildings, a college spokeswoman told JTA.
The swastikas were permanently removed by staff by Friday morning, said the spokesman, Stacey Schmeidel.
In a letter emailed that evening to students, staff and faculty, Smith President Kathleen McCartney condemned the vandalism as an act of “hatred and cowardice.” She said the college’s first priority is to ensure the safety and well-being of the community, especially members of the Jewish community.
The school offered support and counseling services.
Earlier this month, swastikas and the numbers 14-88, a combination of two common white supremacist numeric symbols, were drawn on an Israeli flag in front of the Falmouth Jewish Congregation in Falmouth, Massachusetts.
In September, graffiti calling for violence against Jews, mocking Anne Frank, and endorsing Hitler for president was discovered at the historic Fort Revere Park in Hull, Massachusetts.
In 2018, the ADL reported that Massachusetts had a total of 144 anti-Semitic incidents. While down from the prior year, it was the second highest year on record.
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