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Montreal Police Searching for Two Assailants after Jewish Man Assaulted

The Montreal police hate crimes unit is investigating after two young men were caught on video trying to grab an Israeli flag from a man and hitting him with a stick, Thursday in Westmount.

Police received a 911 call at around 1:15 p.m. about a robbery at the corner of Ste-Catherine Street West and Wood Avenue.

A video shot by a witness from a nearby office building shows two younger men trying to wrestle a rolled-up flag away from the victim, who was on his way back from an event celebrating Israel's independence.

When the two eventually let go of the flag, one of the attackers is seen picking up a stick from the ground and striking the victim in the upper body. He then repeatedly strikes a bystander who intervened, before the two assailants run away up Wood Avenue.

The watchdog organization that monitors Jew hatred, StopAntisemitism, tweeted about the attack adding the victim might be a Holocaust survivor.

Police have reviewed the video and have spoken with witnesses but have not yet identified the assailants, who fled before officers arrived. Investigators are seeking two men in their 20s for robbery and armed assault.

"The investigation is ongoing and it has been transferred to the hate crime unit because it seems that the crime has been motivated by hate," said Mariane Allaire Morin, spokesperson for the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM).

The Federation CJA and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) put out a joint statement condemning the attack. The statement said "antisemitic acts and acts of aggression, intimidation, and hatred are not acceptable" and that Jewish Montrealers and supporters of Israel "must be free to celebrate in peace and safety."

A spokesperson for Dawson College, which is located in the same vicinity of the site of the attack, said the college was aware of the incident and said "Dawson is reviewing the video to ascertain if any Dawson students were involved."

Police did not have any information to suggest that the assailants were students at the college.

Jewish Groups Denounce UC San Diego SJP Event Featuring Antisemite Taher Herzallah

Jewish groups are denouncing UC San Diego’s (UCSD) Students for Justice in Palestine’s (SJP) upcoming event featuring American for Muslims in Palestine (AMP) Director of Outreach Taher Herzallah.

The event is scheduled to take place on May 4. The watchdog organization Stop Antisemitism wrote in an April 30th post on their website that Herzallah has defended Hamas’ rocket attacks against Israel as “an oppressed people’s audible cry for help” and described a picture of a bloody Israeli soldier as “the most beautiful site.” He has also disrupted David Friedman’s confirmation hearing in 2017 as the United States Ambassador to Israel as well as disrupted former Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren’s speech in 2010 at UC Irvine; Herzallah was arrested both times. Stop Antisemitism has dubbed Herzallah as “The Hateful Heckler.”

Additionally, Herzallah’s speaking event at Northeastern University on April 28th was either canceled or moved off campus, according to a tweet by Stop Antisemitism. The university did not reply to the Journal’s request for comment as to what exactly happened with the event.

“We applaud Northeastern University and President [Joseph] Aoun for not allowing a dangerous antisemite like Taher Herzallah to appear on their campus,” StopAntisemitism Executive Director Liora Rez said in a statement to the Journal. “We request UCSD and Chancellor [Pradeep] Khosla affirm their commitment to keeping UCSD’s Jewish students safe on campus and follow in the footsteps of Northeastern.”

Additionally, UCSD campus Jewish groups sent a letter to Khosla echoing the same criticisms of Herzallah as Stop Antisemitism, and noted that Herzallah will be speaking again on May 9th at an event sponsored by UCSD’s Division of Arts and Humanities. “Our Associated Students voted to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism. The values supported by this speaker would be in clear violation of this resolution,” the letter, which was obtained by the Journal, states. “This university has an obligation to make students feel safe on campus, and as of now, the Jewish community does not feel safe.”

Karen Parry, Executive Director of Hillel San Diego, also said in a statement to the Journal, “Hillel of San Diego is extremely concerned about Taher Herzallah coming to speak twice this month at UCSD, first through Students for Justice in Palestine on May 4th and again, sponsored by the UCSD Division of Arts and Humanities, on May 9th. Herzallah has repeatedly called for violence and has said ‘Israelis have to be bombed.’ His provocations are blatantly discriminatory and antisemitic. The fact that a speaker who espouses antisemitic rhetoric is coming to campus as a UCSD endorsed speaker is heartbreaking and truly damaging to Jewish students.” She added that the Hillel “is engaging with the UCSD administration to address the quasi-endorsement and support of Herzallah’s messaging and to ensure the safety of Jewish students on campus.”

StandWithUs CEO and Co-Founder Roz Rothstein similarly said in a statement to the Journal, “Providing a platform for convicted criminals like Taher Herzallah, who advocate violence against Israelis and delegitimize the existence of the State of Israel, gives the impression of legitimizing such views. Even if freedom of speech principles mean that such hateful expression is protected, the UCSD administration should use its own voice and urgently issue a statement unequivocally condemning Herzallah’s statements of support for violent antisemitism and assuring Jewish, Israeli and non-Jewish students who care about Israel (or —-who feel connected to Israel) that his invitation by SJP is in no way reflective of the university’s position and his bigoted, antisemitic expression is contrary to the values of UCSD.”

SJP UCSD defended their decision to host Herzallah, telling the Journal that the claims of antisemitism against Herzallah are “totally baseless.” “It has been pretty typical of Stop Antisemitism to label any and all critique of the Occupation [as] anti-semitic,” the group said. “This is despite the fact that some of the most outspoken voices and groups on the issue are in fact Jewish and in many cases identified at one point with the Occupation.” They pointed to Miko Peled, B’Tselem, IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace as examples, calling them “great resources that we stand by.”

AMP and Khosla’s office did not respond to the Journal’s request for comment by publication time.

'Die Juden' Painted in Yellow on Portland Synagogue, Small Fires Set

Staff from Congregation Beth Israel on Monday morning found an antisemitic death threat scrawled on the outside of the building and scorch marks from recent fires set in front of the doors to the sanctuary.

Pittsburgh Police Arrest Man for Stealing Dozens of Jewish Artifacts

The 20-year-old Squirrel Hill resident Andrew Clinton is not Jewish. But on April 21, when Pittsburgh police searched the home of his parents, they found several bins of Judaica — all stolen.

Hamsa amulets, menorahs, books, miniature Israeli flags and even family photos were among the large collection of items recovered in the search.

Clinton, who was arrested earlier this month, is accused of pilfering them from the homes of local Jewish residents. He has been charged with more than a dozen counts of theft, although many of the items could not be returned because they had never been reported as stolen.

According to the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, Clinton used a variety of methods in order to gain entrance to Jewish homes: he posed as a contractor, landscaper, HVAC technician and gynecological resident; used a false name to post to a private Jewish Pittsburgh Facebook group; and pretended either to be Jewish or to be interested in converting in order to snoop in houses to determine what he wanted to steal. 

He also attended Jewish community functions until rabbis began expressing concern over his behavior, and several Jewish institutions began banning him from the premises.

All of it seems to have been for the purposes of amassing his collection of stolen Jewish artifacts from Squirrel Hill, Fox Chapel and Ohara Township. The police are asking members of the Pittsburgh Jewish community for their help in identifying further victims of Clinton’s thefts so that they can return the items to their rightful owners.

Not all of his stolen items were Jewish in nature. Clinton also stole thousands of dollars in cash, dozens of signed baseballs, and a firearm, police said.

In a separate incident, two days before their search of Clinton’s parents’ home, Pittsburgh police also arrested a 31-year-old man who had screamed and made obscenities at Jews on the street near a synagogue. The man, who is currently being held in jail awaiting a preliminary hearing, is also accused of having screamed at churchgoers.

The security directors for the Pittsburgh Federation and the local Jewish Association on Aging had aided in the police’s apprehension of Christian Williams, the Jewish Chronicle reported.

Marquette University Student Senate Unanimously Pass Antisemitic Resolution on Eve of Yom Hashoah

A University spokesman defended the resolution stating “In alignment with our Catholic, Jesuit mission … we appreciate that Marquette students are engaging in discussion on important global topics.”