Jewish real estate developer charged with felony assault for intentionally striking pro-Palestinian demonstrators with his car

05/13/2024 / By Laura Harris

A Jewish real estate developer from New York has been charged with felony assault after intentionally hitting a group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Columbia University with his car, which resulted in the hospitalization of one protester.

According to the official statement of the Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a student organizing group that gathered outside the residence of one of Columbia University’s Board of Trustees members on the Upper East Side to voice their demands, the suspect identified as Reuven Kahane, 57, confronted a protester who attempted to hand him a flier by forcibly grabbing him. Kahane allegedly parked his vehicle across the street from approximately 25 protesters before accelerating toward them as they dispersed. (Related: Police use taser, tear gas to disperse pro-Palestinian activists at Emory University.)

However, Maryellen Novak, a 55-year-old safety marshal involved in the protest, bravely attempted to halt the vehicle’s maneuver.

“I saw her put her hands on the hood of the car, trying to stop it,” said Ava Garcia, one of the protesters. “The car kept moving, and she was pushed to the hood of the car because it was accelerating. It was only when she fell to the ground that the car stopped.”

Novak sustained minor injuries and was subsequently taken into custody and later hospitalized, along with another protester, 63-year-old John Rozendaal, where they remained handcuffed to the bed. However, Novak was charged with criminal mischief and unlawful assembly and Rozendaal with criminal mischief, while Kahane faced charges of second-degree assault.

“Maryellen jumping in front of the car helped save a bunch of people,” said Ha Vu, another safety volunteer.

Fortunately, the Manhattan district attorney later dropped the charges against Novak and Rozendaal.

Suspect a distant cousin of Jewish Defense League and Kach Party founder

As it turned out, genealogical records suggest that Kahane is a distant cousin of Rabbi Meir Kahane, the founder of the Jewish Defense League and the Kach Party. Meir Kahane and his organizations became known for their militant and radical Zionist views, far-right ideology and explicit anti-Arab stance.

The group advocates for the forceful removal of Arab and Muslim populations from Israeli-occupied territories while orchestrating a series of violent attacks both domestically and internationally. In the 1980s, the Kach party was banned from the Israeli parliament, while the United States classified the Jewish Defense League as a terrorist organization. Rabbi Meir Kahane was assassinated in New York in 1990.

Moreover, the Kach movement faced legal repercussions after one of its followers perpetrated a massacre in 1994, resulting in the deaths of 29 individuals.

The suspect is now trying to dissociate himself from Meir Kahane. “What does my being a distant cousin of someone who passed away 35 years ago have anything to do with this?” he said.

Head over to Revolt.news for more stories about Palestine protests across the country.

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