The student accused of assaulting a Jewish student and using anti-Semitic slurs on Aug. 20 during Welcome Week was recently charged, as confirmed by court records.
The defendant, Abdel Aziz Jalil, was arraigned on Sept. 10 and charged with simple assault and recklessly endangering another person. Aziz Jalil was listed as a student at the university as of Monday night.
On Aug. 20, senior managing and information systems major Daniel Vessal alleged that Aziz Jalil punched him after approaching the Students for Justice in Palestine table at Temple Fest to discuss the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza. Vessal also alleged that while on the ground after being hit, Aziz Jalil called him an anti-Semitic slur.
In a statement released by SJP on Aug. 21, Aziz Jalil was quoted as saying, “I’m sorry for what I did; I admit that I lost my temper.” However, he said he slapped – not punched – Vessal and denied being driven to do so by anti-Semitic sentiments. He denied having used any ethnic slurs.
Five days after the incident, President Theobald announced a university investigation of the events that transpired. The investigation’s findings were then passed on to the District Attorney, Executive Director of Campus Safety Services Charlie Leone said on Sept. 2.
A protest was planned for Aug. 28 on Main Campus, but was subsequently delayed twice and canceled the third time with the announcement of the commonwealth’s charges.
On Sept. 10, Aziz Jalil posted his required $10 bail. Aziz Jalil is being represented by Raymond C. Geary, a 1993 alumnus of Temple’s law school.
Aziz Jalil is scheduled for a status hearing on Oct. 1.
Marcus McCarthy can be reached at marcus.mccarthy@temple.edu and on twitter @MarcusMcCarthy6
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