Antisemitic incidents, hate-based vandalism under investigation at Fresno State

Robert Kuwada, The Fresno Bee on Dec 17, 2025

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FRESNO, Calif. — Fresno State is investigating three incidents of hate-based vandalism where campus property has been defaced with antisemitic messaging, according to a campuswide statement from president Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval.

The incidents are being investigated collectively and not as isolated incidents because they occurred within a short timeframe and reflect related acts of hate-based vandalism.

Jiménez-Sandoval’s statement did not detail the exact content of the messages. Fresno State police records show four reports of vandalism and defacing property in December at different locations on campus.

“As soon as we became aware of these reports, we convened our multidisciplinary team, including University Police Department, the Office of Compliance and Civil Rights, Student Affairs, Facilities and University Counsel, to ensure a coordinated and intentional campuswide response,” Jiménez-Sandoval said, in the statement.

“Listening and responding thoughtfully are essential, especially during moments like this, in order to establish concrete next steps that will protect our community’s safety.”

Jiménez-Sandoval in the statement made note of the recent mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Australia, where two gunmen fired into a crowd of about 1,000 celebrating Hanukkah, killing 15 including one child. Authorities in Australia have said the shooting was motivated by antisemitism and declared it Islamic-state terrorism. The incidents at Fresno State also follow a shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island, where two were killed and nine injured, which Jiménez-Sandoval said “compounds our grief.”

“Let me be clear: hate and violence have no place at Fresno State, or anywhere,” the Fresno State president said, in the statement. “Antisemitism, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination run counter to our values and to the environment we are committed to upholding.

“While we do not typically share individual reports campuswide, we are doing so now because these incidents are being addressed as a related cluster under our standardized response model. Transparency matters, and so does accountability.”