The Arizona State University (ASU) has fired one of its scholars following a video that surfaced showing him verbally attacking a woman wearing a hijab during a pro-Israel rally on campus.
The incident has brought attention to the increasing tensions on college campuses across the United States in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict, as well as a surge in reported antisemitic and anti-Muslim incidents.
In a statement to the CNN, ASU President Michael Crow announced that the scholar, Jonathan Yudelman, affiliated with ASU’s School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership, will not be permitted to teach at the university anymore.
The video is currently under investigation by university officials, captured Yudelman confronting and cursing at the woman in the hijab.
The university had previously placed Yudelman on leave following the incident, and Crow stated that he would “never teach here again.”
The incident at the ASU is not an isolated event.
The 58-second video shows Yudelman repeatedly moving toward a woman wearing a hijab as she tries to distance herself from him.
In the video, the woman can be heard stating that he is disrespecting her religious boundaries, to which Yudelman responds with an offensive remark.
The context leading up to and following the incident remains unclear, and efforts are being made to verify the source of the video.
Yudelman was interviewed by a news crew on the same day, where he expressed concerns about campuses being taken over by “supporters of terrorism and Jewish students facing intimidation.”
The ASU and the Tempe Police Department are investigating the incident.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations in Arizona has condemned Yudelman’s behaviour captured in the video and called for his termination if the allegations are substantiated.
It was revealed that Yudelman had already submitted his resignation from the ASU, which was scheduled to be effective on June 30, prior to the altercation.
Protests related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have been taking place on various campuses across the country, leading to confrontations and arrests.
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At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), at least nine pro-Palestinian student protesters were arrested on campus.
Meanwhile, more than 800 faculty and staff members at the University of California Los Angeles have called for the resignation of Chancellor Gene Block.
The group claims that the school’s administration has mistreated individuals involved in recent protests on campus.