“Why are you pushing for criminal charges against students who participated in campus protests? Why do you need your pound of flesh?” A nugget from an article in the Columbia Spectator, Columbia’s student newspaper, explains why American Jews are pushing, not for a pound of flesh, but for regular, ordinary justice. At a meeting of the University Senate, the authors of the Task Force on Antisemitism’s report faced a hostile reception. One of the participants, Professor Joseph Howley, read an open letter at the meeting criticizing the task force for “conspicuous neglectful omissions of context,” “conveniently slippery definitions” of antisemitism, and “factual misrepresentations” that “threaten to damage the fabric of our community.” The letter mentioned in particular criminal charges against a student, Malaika Friedman, accused of striking an Israeli student and breaking his finger. Those charges were mentioned in an earlier draft of the report and later removed. It’s true that Friedman was not convicted of a crime, nor did she plead guilty. But she did accept “an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, where she was required to issue a public apology, complete three restorative justice sessions, and go six months without rearrest.” According to the victim, here is what happened:

The incident took place outside Columbia’s Butler Library. The Israeli man who was hit with the stick told the D.A.’s office in October that he and others had printed fliers with information about the number of deaths in Israel, along with a photograph of a kidnapped Israeli family, and posted the fliers on designated news bulletins on campus.

The victim said he saw Friedman take down and rip up several fliers. He said Friedman told him and others, “F— you. F— all of you prick crackers.”

She also said, “I disrespected you. What are you going to do about it?” according to a complaint filed with the district attorney’s office.

Friedman then shoved the victim and struck him in the hands with a dowel, slicing and fracturing his finger, the initial complaint said.

While Friedman was “waving the stick at the victim,” the DA’s office concluded that she “did not intentionally hit the student with a stick,” and anyway, “it was later determined that the finger was sprained, not broken.” The DA also pointed to Friedman’s youth, lack of criminal history, and “willingness to learn through the social services classes.”

To have the Columbia faculty complain about the inclusion of this incident in a report on antisemitism because the perpetrator (as is common in first-offense cases in low level criminal matters) accepted an alternative resolution to the case and apologized rather than pleading guilty is absurd and demeaning. If this is what happens when people are not formally held to account when they injure others or impede them in the exercise of their rights because they are Jewish, then yes, we need actual justice to be done.

I am not going to go through everything else that happened at the off-the-rail meeting, but I encourage you to read the Spectator’s piece about it, particularly the bit where professors complain that the taskforce on antisemitism did not represent diverse points of view and was too focused on the experiences of Jewish students.

Image Credit: InSapphoWeTrust (CC BY-SA)