Assault on Jewish University of Michigan Student Under Investigation as Hate Crime

Student was kicked and spat on after confirming he was Jewish, according to the college’s Jewish Resource Center

A group attacked a University of Michigan student early Sunday morning after confirming he was Jewish, according to the Ann Arbor Police Department, which is investigating the incident as a hate crime.

The unnamed student, 19, told police “a group of unknown males behind him asked if he was Jewish,” according to an Ann Arbor Police Department statement. “When the victim replied yes, the group of males proceeded to assault him.”

The assailants “threw him to the ground, kicked him, and spat on him—an attack on both his body and his heritage,” the University of Michigan’s Jewish Resource Center wrote to its members in an email obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. It noted that the attack occurred a block away from the center.

The student suffered minor injuries and didn’t require hospitalization.

“The safety of our campus community is our highest priority,” University of Michigan president Santa Ono posted to X on Sunday evening. “We are working closely with the Ann Arbor police department as they investigate the assault which occurred this morning.”

“In turn, we will ask that perpetrators be held accountable for their actions. We stand firmly against antisemitism and all bias-motivated behavior,” he added. “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.”

University of Michigan senior and Wolverines for Israel president Josh Brown expressed his concerns about the incident.

“This hate crime comes at the height of anti-Semitism nationally and on our campus,” Brown told the Free Beacon. He said the administration must take steps to fight anti-Semitism and expects “the assailants to be held responsible for their heinous actions to the fullest extent of the law.”

Ono further stressed his concerns about campus anti-Semitism in a Monday statement.

“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 statement read.

Sunday’s attack is the latest incident surrounding anti-Semitism and anti-Israel activity on Michigan’s campus. Michigan attorney general Dana Nessel on Thursday filed charges against 11 agitators involved in anti-Israel encampments and other protests on campus last spring. Nine were charged with trespassing and seven were also charged with resisting and obstructing a police officer for trying to prevent law enforcement from dismantling the encampment.

A university alumnus was accused of kicking counterprotesters’ flags and was charged with disturbing the peace and attempted ethnic intimidation. One person unaffiliated with the college broke Israeli flags and faces a malicious destruction of property charge, according to officials.

Brown said he’s glad the attorney general is enforcing state law and the University of Michigan’s policies.

“While peaceful protest is an essential right, illegal and violent protest is not and must be decisively dealt with,” he said.

The SHUT IT DOWN party, which aims to halt all student government activity until the University of Michigan divests from Israel, won control over the Central Student Government in the spring. The president, herself a member, vetoed the fall 2024 budget, restricting funding for on-campus activities. The body failed to overturn the veto on Wednesday. The university administration has had to bypass the student government to provide student groups funding.

In June, the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights found the University of Michigan violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The office had investigated 75 complaints, many involving Jewish students, and determined that few were adequately handled.

The University of Michigan will now regularly report to the office how it handles discrimination incidents over the 2024-25 school year. It will also ask students and employees to evaluate the level of discrimination they face or witness.

The college declined to provide additional comment.