Jewish University of New Mexico Student Attacked in Possible Hate Crime

A freshman at University of New Mexico was taken to the hospital and treated for serious injuries including internal bleeding and a concussion. 

Roni Saponar told KOB 4 he was beat up by a group of guys during a party earlier this month. Saponar was wearing a shirt that said "Just Jew It.”

According to Saponar, the suspects also stole his shoes and smartwatch.  “They weren't just trying to take my stuff -- there was a feeling behind it,” he said.

Saponar told KOB 4 he is from Israel and is Jewish. “So there had to be some kind of anger behind it,” he added.

He said the attackers also yelled antisemitic slurs. A spokesperson with the Albuquerque Police Department told KOB 4 it’s too early to know if the attack was a hate crime. 

Jewish Man Left Bloodied by Palestinian Protestors in NYC

A video posted to Twitter Tuesday night showed a Jewish man gushing blood while seeking refuge in a New York City store after fleeing from a group of pro-Palestinian activists.

According to StopAntiSemitism.org "a mob of Palestinians and their supporters nearly lynch a Jewish man. NYPD thankfully rushed him into a store for safety but not before he was left heavily bleeding!"

Man left severely bloodied by anti-Israel protester(s) in NYC today. Graphic video by @elaadeliahu: pic.twitter.com/cWEakjmcTF

— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) May 12, 2021

Officers of the New York City Police Department can be seen in the video pushing back the activists from the store. One of the activists can be heard yelling at the man "f*** you!" over and over through the store's windows as someone inside the store locks the doors.

The man has not yet been identified but showed a Jewish star necklace to the cameras through the windows.

San Diego State University Investigating Antisemitic Social Media Post by Student

San Diego State University leaders are investigating after being notified of a student’s antisemitic social media post which they say disparaged the Jewish community.

University officials are working with the San Diego State University police “to quickly assess the situation,” according to a letter sent out to the community Wednesday.

The letter is signed by J. Luke Wood, SDSU’s vice president for student affairs and campus diversity.

“SDSU strongly condemns language or acts of marginalization, antisemitism, racism and hatred,” the letter reads. “Secondly, the university is taking action in response to this and other recent, though unrelated, incidents of concern in which members of our Jewish community were targeted.”

Although many students who spoke to FOX 5 hadn’t seen the post themselves, word of the hurtful language was spreading quickly on campus.

“Aside from actually seeing it, one of the biggest hurtful things is just knowing an evil exists somewhere in the world,” Nathan Schweldock said.

“Honestly, I’m not surprised,” said Cole Thorpe, a Jewish student at the university. “It’s disgusting.”

Some students like Thorpe also point out it isn’t the first time something like this has happened in recent months. In March, swastikas were found drawn on the side of a campus building.

“Rabbi of the local Chabad house, his personal house was broken into and people stole his stuff,” Thorpe said. “The suspects were SDSU students.”

Hillel of San Diego runs a program on the SDSU campus and is included in the university’s partnership with the Anti-Defamation League. Hillel also is involved SDSU’s newly formed Anti-Semitism Task Force, which launched last month.

“Anytime you see something like this, as a Jewish leader, I go on alert,” Hillel of San Diego Executive Director Karen Parry said. “None of this is acceptable. One time is too many times.”

The school is looking into making possible policy changes to counter anti-Semitism on campus.

“Antisemitism is not going away,” Parry said. “It changes, especially in the pandemic. A lot of it has been seen online and it’s become more vitriolic because of that so we have to remain vigilant.”