Police and FBI are investigating the second anti-Semitic attack at the University of Pittsburgh in just a few weeks

According to the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, a Jewish University of Pittsburgh student was attacked off campus early Friday morning by a group of six to eight men who used anti-Semitic and anti-Israel language during the attack.

A police report released Friday said the student told police the group saw his Star of David necklace and then began making derogatory comments about Israel. The men and the student then began arguing, the report said, after which at least three of the men “began punching and kicking him, causing a bruised lip.” A bystander interrupted the argument.

A crime alert from the University of Pittsburgh Police also described the attackers using “anti-Semitic language.”

Friday’s attack, which reportedly occurred around 2 a.m., is the second attack on Jewish students at the University of Pittsburgh in less than a month. On August 29, a man with keffiyeh and a glass bottle was arrested after he allegedly injured two Jewish students, both wearing yarmulkes. The two students were heading to the campus Hillel building for a Shabbat dinner, the Hillel Jewish University Center said in a statement at the time.

In a statement Friday after the incident, the Hillel said its staff had spoken to the Jewish student and were “relieved that he was not seriously injured.” The statement called for the incident to be investigated as a hate crime.

“The safety of our students and staff is our top priority and we appreciate the quick response from law enforcement,” the statement said. “We know this is difficult news, especially as we approach Shabbat.”

Rachel Kranson, director of religious studies at the University of Pittsburgh, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on Monday that the attack would have repercussions beyond the school because “the boundaries between ‘on,’ ‘near,’ and ‘outside’ the school are broken.” Campuses are noticeably “pretty thin” in a relatively small city with several urban campuses.

She noted that Squirrel Hill – a heavily Jewish neighborhood where the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting that killed 11 Jews took place – is about two miles from the site of the alleged attack.

“My impression is that since the synagogue attack in 2018, Jewish people have felt less safe in and around the city of Pittsburgh,” Kranson said. “The recent violence has its origins in different circumstances, but for those who live here, any violence against Jewish people in Pittsburgh can bring back terrible memories of this earlier attack, making it all the more frightening. Emotionally, it’s just hard to escape that context.”

The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and the FBI are investigating the incident with assistance from the University of Pittsburgh Police.

“The University of Pittsburgh unequivocally condemns anti-Semitism. Any violence or anti-Semitic acts against our community will not be tolerated,” the university said in a statement posted on Instagram. “No matter who it comes from or who it is directed at, hatred of any kind has no place in our community. We offer resources and support to the victim, as well as all other community members affected by this terrible incident now and in the future.”