Group attacks University of Michigan student for being Jewish: Police
‘Jew hatred, which has been thinly veiled as anti-zionism on this campus, has been festering and the unfortunate and predictable result is that Jewish students have become targets,’ a Jewish Resource Center spokesperson told Campus Reform.
‘We strongly condemn and denounce this act of violence and all antisemitic acts,’ the school president said.
An unknown group attacked a Jewish student near the Jewish Resource Center close to the University of Michigan campus on Sunday.
According to the Ann Arbor Police Department, which is looking into the incident as a “bias-motivated assault,” the student “reported he was walking when a group of unknown males behind him asked if he was Jewish. When the victim replied yes, the group of males proceeded to assault him. The suspects then fled the area on foot. The victim suffered minor injuries, and he did not require hospitalization.”
During the assault, the assailants reportedly “[threw] him to the ground, kick[ed] him, and spit on him.”
The Jewish Resource Center condemned anti-Semitism at the University of Michigan, stating that anti-Semites have hidden their hatred with the excuse that they only oppose the State of Israel, not Jewish people in general.
“Jew hatred, which has been thinly veiled as anti-zionism on this campus, has been festering and the unfortunate and predictable result is that Jewish students have become targets,” a spokesperson from the Center told Campus Reform.
“The university needs to stay proactive and create a secure environment by increasing visible security and other deterrents towards hatred. More importantly though, students need to think critically, challenging and uproot extremism when they see it. If we don’t get to the source of the problem, no amount of policing will help,” the spokesperson continued.
University of Michigan President Santa Ono has also condemned the attack and spoke out against anti-Semitism.
“We strongly condemn and denounce this act of violence and all antisemitic acts,” Ono wrote in a statement to the campus community on Monday. “We urge anyone with knowledge about the incident to share it with DPSS or the Ann Arbor police department. In turn, we will also ask that the perpetrators are fully held accountable for their actions.”
[RELATED: Harvard reinstates anti-Israel student group after five-month suspension]
The school experienced several controversies in recent months regarding anti-Israel protests.
Eleven activists were charged on Sept. 12 because of their involvement with disruptive anti-Israel demonstrations at the University of Michigan.
In late August, observers at the school saw several activists who wore head coverings related to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a terrorist group.
Campus Reform has reached out to the University of Michigan for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
