A visibly Jewish student was punched in the face by a pro-Palestine activist during a Monday rally organized by Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, footage on social media showed on Tuesday.
In footage of the event published on X/Twitter, someone can be heard saying to a Jewish man, "You guys start something, and then you play the victim." The Jewish man is then punched in the face.
The attacker, wearing a Palestinian flag and a keffiyeh, can be seen in a video stealing an Israeli flag from someone and running away with it.
For months I've been begging @Columbia to take this seriously.For months, @Columbia has been ignoring escalating threats. Today, a Jewish student wearing a yarmulka was punched in the face. I know this student's family. I've met his parents. They're some of the loveliest… https://t.co/7OWRfPDiFV
— Shai Davidai (@ShaiDavidai) December 10, 2024
Shai Davidai, a pro-Israel professor at Columbia who was previously banned for his activism, wrote on X that he knew the student and his family and that they are "some of the loveliest people I've ever met."