Israeli student attacked with a stick on Columbia University campus

A Brooklyn teenager has been arrested after she allegedly struck an Israeli Columbia University student with a stick on Wednesday night, police have confirmed. Maxwell Friedman, 19, was charged with one count of assault following an altercation with a 24-year-old School of General Studies student in front of Butler Library. A NYPD spokesperson told DailyMail.com that around 6.10 pm on Wednesday, officers responded to an assault in progress.

On arrival, they were told that the victim – identified only by the initials I.A. – was engaged in a dispute that had become physical. Friedman, of Bushwick, struck I.A. in the hand with a wooden stick. She was taken into custody. The victim refused medical attention, the spokesperson said. The incident is not being investigated as a hate crime. I.A. spoke with the Columbia Spectator, a student-run paper at the university.

He said one hand was bruised and his ring finger on the other hand was broken. In the wake of the altercation, he did not plan to return to campus soon. ‘This is because me being an Israeli these days. Not me because being myself,’ I.A. told the paper. ‘It is because me being an Israeli who is under a certain kind of threat.’ A friend of I.A. also spoke to the Spectator, remaining anonymous. He said Friedman approached him and other students as they were putting up posters with names and photos of Israeli hostages reportedly taken by Hamas. Friedman told the students that she was Jewish and asked to join them.

Read Related Also: EXCLUSIVE: My dad was killed by an insane satanist 'phrogger' who secretly lived in stranger's home – I want justice

Around 5.30 pm, I.A. said he was outside Butler with friends and saw Friedman, now hiding her face with a bandana, tearing the flyers down. I.A. claims that Friedman screamed obscenities at the group when they approached her. He says Friedman hit him with a stick before trying to punch him in the face – which is when he ‘defended himself.’ ‘We were all kind of shocked that this stuff can happen on our own campus, which should be a safe haven,’ I.A. said.

‘We don’t know how to handle the situation, let alone that our families and friends are going through the worst nightmare, and we are mentally [on] the same ship [as] them. ‘And, now, we have to handle the situation that campus is not a safe place for us anymore.’ One night earlier, students held a vigil in the middle of campus to commemorate the Israelis who had been killed in the war. Social media video showed students holding candles while singing a prayer in unison.

The altercation between Friedman and I.A. came one day ahead of scheduled protests by members of pro-Palestine group Students for Justice in Palestine. The national chapter deemed October 12 the ‘Day of Resistance’ and called on over 250 chapters at colleges across the country to mobilize. Members of the school community pushed back, countering the ‘pro-Hamas protests’ a with petition that received over 3,200 signatures. It called for the administration to condemn Hamas’s ‘egregious acts of violence against innocent and unarmed civilians’ and express its support of ‘Israel’s need to defend itself.’

On October 9 – one day after Hamas fighters launched a surprise attack on Israel – Columbia University President Minouche Shafik issued a statement. It read, in part: ‘Since Saturday, our first priority has been to make sure everyone connected to Columbia is safe and to provide logistical support and other types of resources for students, staff, and faculty who are directly affected by the conflict.’ Shafik added: ‘We must reject forces that seek to pull us apart and model behavior that shows respect for all.’ Gaza’s ruling Hamas militant group launched an unprecedented attack on Saturday, firing rockets into Israel as hundreds of fighters infiltrated the border.

The country was thrown off guard on Simchat Torah, a major holiday when Jews complete the annual cycle of reading the Torah scroll. Gunmen encroached on towns and communities outside the Gaza Strip, firing at civilians and IDF soldiers. In a televised address Saturday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – who declared the country to be at war – said the military would use all of its strength to counter Hamas, warning that ‘this war will take time. It will be difficult.’

Want more stories like this from the Daily Mail? Visit our profile page here and hit the follow button above for more of the news you need.