An anti-Israel protest at Columbia University turned violent when a demonstrator struck a Jewish student in the face, accusing him of being a Nazi during a heated altercation involving a snatched flag.
Jonathan Lederer, 22, arrived with his brother at an anti-Israel protest near Columbia University's Morningside Heights campus when a demonstrator wearing a keffiyeh grabbed an Israeli flag from his brother. As Lederer intervened, the protester struck him, he recounted to The New York Post.
The confrontation began around 3:30 pm when protesters surrounded Lederer—whose family suffered losses in the Holocaust—and accused him of being a "baby killer" because of his support for Israel, he recounted.
"When the victim attempted to retrieve the flag, the individual punched the victim in the face and fled the location on foot, traveling northbound on Claremont Avenue," per the police. "There were no injuries reported."
