Anti-Semitic line put in April Fool poem

PHILADELPHIA, April 4 (UPI) -- The company that manages a student housing complex in Philadelphia blames a "rogue employee" for an anti-Semitic line inserted in an April Fool's Day poem.

The poem was published in a newsletter distributed to residents of University Village, which houses Temple University students. The original was by a longtime Dear Abby reader and is a wish for peace and harmony but a line inserted into it called for the extinction of the Jews, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

"They used the word extinct. Hitler tried to do that," said Samantha Mirkin, a Temple student who lives in the complex.

Rob Simmons, who manages the building for American Campus Communities of Austin, Texas, said that about 20 people work in the office and contribute to the newsletter. Greg Dowell, the chief operating officer in Texas, said that once the person responsible for the anti-Semitic line is identified, he or she will be fired.

In another recent incident, four Temple students were charged with assaulting a man and yelling anti-Semitic slurs.