According to Temple Police’s daily crime report, a non-Temple student was assaulted on campus in the early morning hours of Feb. 15 by a group of students who used anti-Semitic slurs.
Philadelphia Police said four warrants have been issued. According to an e-mail statement by President Ann Weaver Hart, the students involved are suspended pending a University Disciplinary Committe hearing.
Hart’s statement reaffirmed that there is no room for hate crimes at Temple.
The closing lines of the e-mail read, “Indeed, hatred violates the core values upon which this university was founded – values that are cherished by all of us in the extended Temple family.”
The identity of the male victim is unknown. He suffered a fractured right orbital bone and a broken nose as a result of the attack, which occurred on North Broad Street between Diamond and Norris streets.
Jesse Breitbart, a Temple Students for Israel member, said the administration is not taking this crime lightly.
“No one is forgetting about this or letting this slide,” he said. “The highest levels of the university know about it and they’re taking it extremely seriously.”
Representatives from the Anti-Defamation League, leaders of Jewish organizations on campus, administration and other students will attend a meeting to discuss the issues of anti-Semitism and discrimination on campus this Thursday.
Temple Police Capt. Robert Lowell declined to comment, citing that the case is an active investigation.
Joe Littman, president of the Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi, said he was present immediately after the attack occurred.
“I was there when the police arrived, and I believe they took him to the hospital, as far as I know,” he said. “He was conscious. You could tell he was injured though.”
Littman, a junior BTMM major, said he isn’t sure of the exact context of the attack but that the victim was asked if he was a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi and if he was Jewish.
After they heard about that attack last Monday, a group of 10 to 15 Jewish leaders set up an impromptu meeting.
“[We] basically talked about what happened so that leaders who didn’t know exactly the full story, including myself, got the full story,” said Breitbart, a senior kinesiology major. “We all, as a group, feel that something should definitely be [done] so that nothing like this ever happens again.”
Josh Milstein, the president of Temple University Hillel and a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi, said he was shocked by what happened.
“I think the important thing is to raise awareness about anti-Semitism and discrimination, what it’s considered, and how people can do something about things like acts of discrimination,” the senior film and media arts major said.
Littman, too, said he was astounded that any kind of racism is present on Temple’s campus.
“[It] just reminds you that there’s still work to be done and there are still people who aren’t as open-minded,” he said.
The meeting is scheduled to take place Thursday, Feb. 28 at 8 p.m., in Room 223 of the Student Center.
Breitbart said he hopes to spread awareness on campus.
“I hope that this sparks an educational opportunity,” he said, “and that not just Jews on campus, but the student body as a whole is educated about what anti-Semitism is and why it has no place on Temple University’s campus.”
Morgan A. Zalot can be reached at morgan.zalot@temple.edu.
I am a former Temple Student and, many years ago, served as a reporter for the Temple News. Sadly, your journalism leaves a LOT to be desired.
Some VERY basic matters are being ignored: WHO are the accused students? What are their races, religions, and backgrounds? What motivation, sick as it might be, caused them to viciously attack the victim(s)? WHY has the Temple or Philadelphia Police Department NOT classified the assaults as “hate crimes?” Why have these police departments NOT been swift in classifying attacks on Jews as “hate crimes?”
The Temple News is NOT intended to be a lapdog and sounding-board for the administration. You should not blindly accept and repeat the public relations pablum of the administration.
These are serious criminal acts. The repetition of administrtors’ feel-good comments cannot be considered good journalism. Don’t be led around by your journalist noses. Show some independence and inquire.
Tell us more about the crime, and the accused criminals. THAT is what journalism is supposed to be.
Why doesn’t anyone identify the thugs? Why is there a coverup? If President Hart cares as much as her PR verbal pablum claims, then WHY is there a cover-up? Let’s see photos of the accused, and get some background on them.
Temple News: Act like journalists, and not scared mice.