Police are investigating after pro-Palestinian protesters vandalized University of Washington president Ana Mari Cauce’s home and automobile last week, The Seattle Times reported.
Photos taken by KOMO News show what appears to be the phrase “Free Palestine” in red spray paint on Cauce’s car, along with other messages alleging Cauce is “complicit in genocide.” The graffiti included “pro-Hamas symbols,” according to university spokesperson Victor Balta. Cauce’s tires were also slashed and other messages were painted on her home.
Video posted to an Instagram account called escalate_seattle showed several people in masks spray painting her vehicle and property, and the account attributed the vandalism to anonymous “students/actioners.”
The post read in part, “Cauce does not get to live a comfortable life or have a positive reputation while snuggling up to war profiteers. While Ana Mari and the Board of Regents use the bureaucratic process in an attempt to stall out the movement for Palestinian liberation, we will not be deceived or demobilized. Our movement will continue to escalate until the demands for cutting ties with war-profiteer Boeing and divestment from zionism are met.”
The University of Washington, like many schools across the nation, has faced pressure to divest endowment funds from companies involved in the war between Israel and Hamas, including Boeing. Pro-Palestinian protesters also asked UW to return a $10 million gift to Boeing.
(UW has denied having investments in Boeing but has received support from the company.)
A pro-Palestinian encampment erected during the spring semester lasted more than two weeks before UW administrators reached an agreement with protesters to fund scholarships for displaced Palestinian students and explore opportunities to establish ties with Palestinian universities, among other concessions. Divestment demands, however, were not part of the agreement.
Balta told news outlets the vandalism “will not influence university policy.”
