A 19-year-old man was attacked at night in Michigan, US, after answering affirmatively to whether he was Jewish.
A 19-year-old male victim reported that he was walking on Hill Street and South Forest Avenue at 12:45 a.m. local time on Sunday, September 15, when he was approached by a group of unknown males and asked whether he was Jewish. „When the victim replied yes, the group of males proceeded to assault him,” the police statement reads.
Police said the suspects fled the area on foot, and the victim suffered minor injuries and was not hospitalised, reports The Times of Israel. Police are probing the incident as a hate crime, while the Anti-Defamation League offers a $5,000 reward for information leading to convictions of the attack perpetrators.
„There is absolutely no place for hate or ethnic intimidation in the City of Ann Arbor,” Anderson said. „Our department stands against antisemitism and all acts of bias-motivated crimes. We are committed to vigorously investigating this and other hate-motivated incidents and will work with the county prosecutor’s office to aggressively prosecute those who are responsible,” said Andre Anderson, the Ann Arbor Police chief.
„We strongly condemn and denounce this act of violence and all antisemitic acts,” wrote University of Michigan President Santa J. Ono. „Antisemitism is in direct conflict with the university’s deeply held values of safety, respect, and inclusion and has no place within our community.”
Photo credit: Carlos Osorio/AP