Man arrested after allegedly attacking Jewish students at University of Pittsburgh

The incident took place near where Pitt students held protests last year against the Israel-Hamas war.

By Ron Kampeas, JTA

A man wearing a keffiyeh and wielding a bottle wounded two Jewish students at the University of Pittsburgh, according to the university, local news reports citing police and Jewish community sources.

“Two students were treated at the scene,” the university said Friday evening in a statement.

“The alleged perpetrator, who has no known Pitt affiliation, was immediately arrested by Pitt Police and is in custody.”

The university called the incident “appalling” and said it had immediately reached out to the campus Hillel to offer support.

The Hillel said in its own statement that the students attacked had been part of a group moving between two Jewish events.

“We appreciate the outpouring of support,” it said.

“It is still unimaginable that a group of Jewish students and staff were walking from a Hillel JUC event in Oakland to the Hillel JUC building for Shabbat dinner when they were attacked by an individual with a bottle.”

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette identified the suspect as Jarrett Buba, 52, of Oakland, the district in the city’s center that is home to hospitals, museums and universities.

He was wearing a keffiyeh, or Palestinian scarf, when he rushed a group of students walking near the university’s Cathedral of Learning, police told the newspaper.

The Jewish students were wearing kippahs, the newspaper reported.

One of them subdued Buba, 52, until police arrived, according to the report. Video corroborated the students’ version of events, the newspaper quoted police as saying.

The incident took place near where Pitt students held protests last year against the Israel-Hamas war and comes as universities across the country are on edge about renewed protest activity that some Jewish students and groups said made them unsafe.

The incident also took place just miles from the site of the worst fatal attack in American Jewish history, on the Tree of Life synagogue in nearby Squirrel Hill in 2018.

Last year, a jury sentenced the gunman who murdered 11 worshipers there to death.

Pennsylvania’s Jewish governor, Jewish Democrat Josh Shapiro, who has frequently criticized pro-Palestinian protests that veer into antisemitism or violence, denounced the incident.

“No matter what you look like, where you come from, or who you do or do not pray to, you deserve to feel safe on your campus here in Pennsylvania,” Shapiro tweeted.

“As an investigation proceeds, let me be clear: antisemitism and hate-fueled violence of any kind has no place in our Commonwealth. Lori and I are praying for the students injured and the Pitt community.”

The university said its leadership had connected with not only Hillel but the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, which represents the estimated 50,000 Jews living in and around the city.

“Pitt leadership contacted Hillel University Center to offer support to our students and also connected with our partners at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh,” the statement said.

The federation said in a statement it texted to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that it was grateful for the swift action by the university police.

“The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh is collaborating with law enforcement and deeply appreciates their swift response, as well as the support provided by the University,” it said.

“No Jewish student should be afraid or be under threat of violence while walking on or near campus.”