NEW DELHI: Sahar Tartak, a Jewish student journalist at Yale University, was assaulted while reporting on an anti-Israeli protest on campus Saturday night.
Tartak, who serves as the editor-in-chief of the Yale Free Press, was surrounded by demonstrators and stabbed in the eye with a Palestinian flag. Despite her attempts to report the incident to campus police, she was told there was nothing they could do, and she had to seek medical attention at a hospital.
Describing the attack, Tarak told the New York Post, “There’s hundreds of people taunting me and waving the middle finger at me, and then this person waves a Palestinian flag in my face and jabs it in my eye.When I tried to yell and go after him, the protesters got in a line and stopped me.”
The protest, which saw hundreds of students camping at the campus in support of Palestinians, has been criticized for its egregious behavior, including intimidation, harassment, and other harmful acts.
Stop Antisemitism, a nonprofit watchdog group, has shared an image of the demonstrator who jabbed Tartak in the eye and is asking the public for help in identifying him.
Yale officials have stated that the university’s police department is investigating the assault and that the school does not tolerate violence on its campus. University President Peter Salovey echoed this sentiment in a statement, saying, “Yale does not tolerate actions, including remarks, that threaten, harass, or intimidate members of the university’s Jewish, Muslim, and other communities.”
However, some students, such as Noah Rubin from the University of Pennsylvania, have criticized Yale for not enforcing its own policies regarding protests. According to the school’s guidelines, protesters are not allowed to block access to building entrances and are considered trespassers if they refuse to leave when instructed.
In addition to the violence on Saturday, students are also holding a hunger strike on campus to pressure Yale into divesting from weapons manufacturers affiliated with Israel. The hunger strike has been ongoing for more than six days and has garnered support from various individuals, including drag performer Tifa Wine, who joined the students on Friday to criticize the university’s alleged support of Israel.
Tartak, who serves as the editor-in-chief of the Yale Free Press, was surrounded by demonstrators and stabbed in the eye with a Palestinian flag. Despite her attempts to report the incident to campus police, she was told there was nothing they could do, and she had to seek medical attention at a hospital.
Describing the attack, Tarak told the New York Post, “There’s hundreds of people taunting me and waving the middle finger at me, and then this person waves a Palestinian flag in my face and jabs it in my eye.When I tried to yell and go after him, the protesters got in a line and stopped me.”
The protest, which saw hundreds of students camping at the campus in support of Palestinians, has been criticized for its egregious behavior, including intimidation, harassment, and other harmful acts.
Stop Antisemitism, a nonprofit watchdog group, has shared an image of the demonstrator who jabbed Tartak in the eye and is asking the public for help in identifying him.
Yale officials have stated that the university’s police department is investigating the assault and that the school does not tolerate violence on its campus. University President Peter Salovey echoed this sentiment in a statement, saying, “Yale does not tolerate actions, including remarks, that threaten, harass, or intimidate members of the university’s Jewish, Muslim, and other communities.”
However, some students, such as Noah Rubin from the University of Pennsylvania, have criticized Yale for not enforcing its own policies regarding protests. According to the school’s guidelines, protesters are not allowed to block access to building entrances and are considered trespassers if they refuse to leave when instructed.
In addition to the violence on Saturday, students are also holding a hunger strike on campus to pressure Yale into divesting from weapons manufacturers affiliated with Israel. The hunger strike has been ongoing for more than six days and has garnered support from various individuals, including drag performer Tifa Wine, who joined the students on Friday to criticize the university’s alleged support of Israel.