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NYPD’s hate crimes unit investigating alleged attack on Jewish Columbia student

By Luke Tress 11 December 2024, 7:45 pm 2 Edit

Luke Tress is The Times of Israel's New York correspondent.

A Jewish Columbia University student who says he was assaulted at an anti-Israel protest next to the campus on Monday says the NYPD is investigating the case and calls on the university to take action.

Jonathan Lederer, 22, says he and his twin brother went to the anti-Israel protest on 116th and Broadway on Monday to document the event and “show our voice.” They stayed across the street from the anti-Israel demonstrators and were wearing Israeli flags and kippahs.

A group of around five protesters wearing keffiyehs harassed the pair, calling them “Nazis” and saying “You like killing babies,” says Lederer, a junior studying computer science. One of the demonstrators tore a flag from Lederer’s hands. Lederer sought to retrieve the flag, at which point one of the protesters punched Lederer in the right side of his face, causing pain but no significant injuries.

The NYPD tells The Times of Israel that the police’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the incident and releases a photo of the suspect.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul says she is “outraged” by the incident.

Lederer caught the incident on video, although his camera was pointed away from the assailant when he threw the punch. The attacker was wearing a mask at the time, but had exposed his face earlier in the event.

It’s unclear if the alleged assailant was a student. The demonstration was organized by student organizations and led by Within Our Lifetime, a hardline activist group in the city that has worked with Columbia student protesters. Posts announcing the protest included violent imagery and prompted school officials to tighten security at Barnard, Columbia’s women’s college.

Lederer says university officials including a top dean have reached out to him, but calls on the school to take more action against the student groups. Lederer says he was also assaulted at a protest on campus in April.

“Columbia needs to take a more forceful stance against these clubs. If this was against any other minority, where violence is being called for against them, they would be immediately denounced as a hate group and they wouldn’t be tolerated as recognized clubs on campus,” he says.

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