At a pro-Palestine protest earlier today, a protester was attacked in what has been labelled a ‘hate crime’.
Under UK law Any crime can be “prosecuted as a hate crime if the offender has either: demonstrated hostility based on race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity or been motivated by hostility based on race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity.”
In a statement on their Instagram, EUJPS said: “During yesterday’s rally, a student protester was attacked by a man with a box-cutter, who called them a “Jew” before slashing their cheek, making the incident hate crime” due to the hostility aimed towards the protesters perceived identity as a Jew.
The group allege that the attacker had “posed an obvious threat prior to the attack”, and that university security personnel stationed nearby the protest “was informed of the risk on multiple occasions”. They have accused university staff of failing to protect “their own students in front of the main library, in broad daylight”.
In their statement they claimed that the university “does not care for the safety of Palestinian students and their allies” and that “security knowingly chose not to de-escalate nor intervene despite students’ pleas.”
According to the group, “when approached about the situation” security members dismissed claims by eye-witnesses who claim they “saw that the attacker possessed a weapon”, saying: “it doesn’t matter what you saw” and that later, after approached by a student “explicitly stating” that someone had been attacked, “security did not act”.
The group allege that a similar situation arose last summer during an encampment of Old College where a “Palestinian and Jewish student were assaulted in the night by an intruder” who ripped off their keffiyeh headdress and called them a “terrorist”, they allege that security stationed at the encampment “did nothing”.
In their statement seen by The Tab EUJPS allege: “A man who was clearly intoxicated and agitational appeared at the rally. He was filming and pointing at members of the protest stating, ‘they’re clearly against me’, and mocking the chants.
“He additionally chanted, ‘Fuck Palestine’ and repeatedly shouted that the speakers were terrorists. As he entered the middle of the protest, several students and wider community members attempted to de-escalate the situation and remove him from the rally in the interest of public safety.
“This group included Jewish and POC students, and an older woman. Although they were able to bring him to the side of the protest, his aggressive behaviour continued, calling visibly POC students around him ‘terrorists’ while also performing multiple sieg heils. He threatened to ‘slash’ POC students who were trying to direct him away from the crowd.”
Police Scotland and The University of Edinburgh have been approached for comment.
EUJPS’ full statement can be found on their Instagram.
Featured image via EUJPS
