Ann Arbor police seek suspects in alleged anti-Jewish attack

Oct 22, 2024

Ann Arbor police are investigating an alleged assault last weekend sparked by the victim's identity, officials said.

The incident happened at about 12:45 a.m. Sunday in the area of Hill Street and South Forest Avenue, according to authorities.

Police said the victim, 19, told them he was walking when a group of unknown men behind him asked if he was Jewish. He replied in the affirmative and the men began assaulting him, officials said.

The group then left and the victim suffered minor injuries, investigators said. He did not require medical treatment and reported the incident to police at 12:20 p.m. Sunday, according to officials.

Anyone with information about the incident or the suspects should call the Ann Arbor Police Department's tip line at (734) 794-6939 or email [email protected].

"We take bias-motivated crimes very seriously and have assigned this incident to our hate crimes detective," Ann Arbor Police officials said in a statement. "Right now, it is very early in the investigation and (we) have limited information on the suspects. We will provide additional information when it becomes available."

Ann Arbor Police Chief Andre Anderson also issued a statement about the incident.

"I have communicated with the University of Michigan police staff, and our goal is to discuss safety over the next few weeks. There is absolutely no place for hate or ethnic intimidation in the city of Ann Arbor," the chief said. "Our department stands against antisemitism and all acts of bias-motivated crimes. We are committed to vigorously investigating this and other hate-motivated incidents and will work with the county prosecutor’s office to aggressively prosecute those who are responsible."

The university's president, Santa Ono, also issued a statement on Monday in the wake of the incident.

"Over the weekend, one of our students was attacked off campus simply for answering 'yes' in response to the question 'are you Jewish?,'" he said. "We strongly condemn and denounce this act of violence and all antisemitic acts. Antisemitism is in direct conflict with the university’s deeply held values of safety, respect and inclusion and has no place within our community.

"The University of Michigan is a place where all students — regardless of their race, sex, nationality, and religion — deserve to feel safe and protected as they pursue the important work of becoming citizens of the wider world. Who we are and how we worship should never be a reason to strike out against another. Let me say it again — antisemitism has no place on campus and is antithetical to the core values of the University of Michigan.

"As the Ann Arbor police investigate this matter, let us recommit to ensuring our campus remains safe and inclusive for all," he said. "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."

He had posted the following statement on X earlier.

"The safety of our campus community is our highest priority," he said. "We are working closely with the Ann Arbor police department as they investigate the assault which occurred this morning. We urge anyone with knowledge about the incident to share it with DPSS or the Ann Arbor police department. In turn, we will ask that perpetrators be held accountable for their actions. We stand firmly against antisemitism and all bias-motivated behavior. We are committed to creating a community where every student, faculty member, staff member or visitor can thrive without the fear of threats, intimidation or violence."

Sarah Hubbard, a regent at the university, also tweeted that the occurrence is concerning.

"Authorities must do everything possible to uncover the facts and hold perpetrators accountable if a crime was committed," she posted on X.

In a statement Monday, Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the group is offering a $1,000 reward for tips to the Ann Arbor Police Department that lead to an arrest and conviction in the incident.

"Everyone in Ann Arbor should be safe to express their ethnic and religious identity without fear of being assaulted nor menaced," he said in a statement Monday. "We call on anyone who witnessed this incident or who has any information relating to this reported attack to immediately contact the Ann Arbor Police Department."

He also said Washington, D.C.,-based CAIR and the American Muslim community stand in solidarity with those challenging antisemitism, systemic anti-Black racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, white supremacy as well as all other forms of bigotry.

State Rep. Noah Arbit also said he was outraged and called on legislators to "finally address Michigan’s woefully inadequate hate crime laws."

“Antisemitism and antisemitic violence has no place in our communities or campuses - yet we continue to see anti-Jewish violence escalate,' he said. "I am grateful for the diligent response of the Ann Arbor and campus police, and my heart goes out to the student, who refused to hide his Jewishness from the assailants.

"As a Jew, as a Michigander, and as a state legislator, this is personal to me; I will not stand silently by and watch Jews - or anyone - be targeted for hate violence in the State of Michigan."

The Anti-Defamation League, which tracks incidents of antisemitic harassment, vandalism and assault in the United States, has reported a trend in what it describes as anti-Jewish sentiment amid Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza.

In 2023, ADL tabulated 8,873 antisemitic incidents across the country, a 140% increase from the 3,698 incidents recorded in 2022 and is the highest number on record since the group began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979.

Since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, dozens of complaints about antisemitism and Islamophobia have been filed at Michigan's three largest universities, with the most coming at the University of Michigan.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights announced in June it had entered into an agreement with university officials following a review of 75 Title IX complaints after it received two complaints alleging the university failed to respond to harassment of Jewish students and resolved both of them.

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@CharlesERamirez