Photo: Tony Webster via Wikimedia Commons.

An Oberlin College associate professor, who was awoken in the middle of the night by a disturbing noise last week, found a note on his mezuzah (traditional scroll affixed to the doorpost) reading “GAS JEWS DIE,” Cleveland 19 News reported on Friday. 

According to the report, Benjamin Kuperman, chair of the Ohio school’s computer science department, discovered that the noise had been caused by the smashing of decorative shells on his porch. The offensive note was constructed from letters cut out and glued on a torn piece of paper.

Kuperman told Cleveland 19 News that he had no idea who may have been behind the defacement, noting that he hadn’t experienced any recent altercations with people from the college, friends or family members. Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime.

In an email to the campus community on Thursday, obtained by The Algemeiner, Oberlin President Marvin Krislov wrote:

It is with deep outrage and sorrow that we report that one of our colleagues and his family were the victims of a cowardly, hateful act last night…[T]his is a moment of great stress and consternation, both nationally and locally. We will need each other’s continued compassion and support at this time; please take care of yourselves, your families, and your loved ones. As our community grieves for the loss of dignity and personal/physical safety that comes with these sorts of vile attacks, these events also can galvanize us in our resolve to fight bigotry and hatred wherever and whenever they occur.

The attack against Kuperman came a day after the college announced it had fired assistant professor Joy Karega over a slew of antisemitic social media postings, which, among other things, blamed Jews and Israel for the 9/11 terror attacks.

As reported by The Algemeiner, Karega’s termination was handed down by Oberlin’s Board of Trustees, which said in a statement that the teacher of rhetoric and composition “disclaimed all responsibility for her misconduct.”

“In the face of Dr. Karega’s repeated refusal to acknowledge and remedy her misconduct, her continued presence undermines the mission and values of Oberlin’s academic community,” the Board stated. “Thus, any sanction short of dismissal is insufficient and the Board of Trustees is compelled to take this most serious action.”