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Wearing a hijab and sunglasses, the woman keeps trying to walk away. Two men — one of whom is Arizona State University faculty member Dr. Jonathan Yudelman — pursue her.
One calls her a bitch, following her even as she insists that he’s “disrespecting my religious boundaries.” He backs her into a nearby palm tree, telling her to “get the fuck out of here.” The second man tells her to “go back to jihad.”
The confrontation, which was captured by an onlooker in a 50-second video and posted to social media Monday morning, has led to widespread outcry and the school placing Yudelman on leave.
Here’s a rundown of what occurred.
College professor Jonathan Yudelman
— Aya Hijazi آية حجازي 🇵🇸 (@ItsAyaHijazi) May 6, 2024
hounding a Muslim woman and calling her a bitch.
Is he making the university safe? Will there be any repercussions?! Condemnations?
pic.twitter.com/y6wAdzfer4
What happened?
The video was recorded Sunday near the corner of University Drive and College Avenue. It’s unclear what happened prior to the filmed confrontation, but ASU’s campus recently has seen numerous protests over Israel’s killing of more than 34,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, during its war against Hamas in Gaza. Counter-gatherings in support of Israel also have occurred.The video begins with a man in a blue T-shirt and sunglasses aggressively approaching the woman, who is wearing a hijab.
“You are literally …” she begins.
“I’m literally in your face, that’s right,” the man interjects, raising his arms in the air. The woman then protests that he’s "disrespecting her religious boundaries" while backing away. “You disrespect my sense of humanity, bitch," he replies, puffing out his chest and getting closer to the woman until she backs into a palm tree.
The second man, wearing a yarmulke, also can be seen in the video verbally attacking the woman and filming the encounter with a phone. “Who invited you here?” he demands, telling her to “go back to jihad” before yelling “Fuck Palestine!” at onlookers.
The men then approach the person filming, demanding they remove their masks and to know if they “glorify” the events of Oct. 7, when Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped more than 200 others in a surprise attack. The video then ends.
Jonathan Yudelman is listed as a professor at both Arizona State University and the University of Austin in Texas.
University of Austin
Who are the people in the video?
The man in the blue shirt is Yudelman, a postdoctoral research scholar at ASU’s School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership, according to the university’s website. Yudelman taught a class in the fall called “Great Ideas of Politics and Ethics” and one in the spring titled “Great Debates in American Politics," according to the site. According to the university, Yudelman had already resigned his position before the incident and was not scheduled to teach any more courses.Yudelman also appears to be affiliated with the University of Austin, a private, unaccredited university in Texas founded by libertarian “anti-woke” crusaders in 2021. The school’s website lists him as an “assistant professor of political theory” who has held postdoctoral positions at Princeton, Harvard, Baylor and ASU from 2020 to 2024.
The second man appears to be Sammy Ben, whose Instagram account says he is an American serving in the Israeli Defense Forces reserve. It’s not clear if he and Yudelman know each other.
The woman has not been identified. It is not known if she is an ASU student.
ASU faculty member Jonathan Yudelman was placed on leave while the school investigates the altercation on Sunday.
Screenshot via X
What is ASU doing about it?
On Monday, the university announced Yudelman had been placed on leave. On May 9, a university provided a statement from ASU president Michael Crow that firmly closed the door on Yudelman's association with ASU.“He is no longer permitted to be on campus," Crow said in the statement, "and will never teach here again.”
Some are calling for more. Azza Abuseif, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Arizona, wants ASU to fire Yudelman and law enforcement to investigate and file criminal charges if warranted. In a statement May9, the school said it has referred the matter to the Tempe Police Department.
“Sadly, the disgusting and dangerous behavior captured on camera is not an isolated incident, but part of a broader pattern of Islamophobia and religious intolerance weaponized by pro-Israel, pro-genocide extremists,” Abuseif said in a prepared statement. “Such behavior is not only discriminatory but also violates the fundamental principles of academic integrity and respect for diversity that professors should uphold inside and outside of the classroom.”
What’s ASU’s track record here?
It's lopsided.Most recently, it cracked down on a peaceful pro-Palestine protest by calling in cops. More broadly, ASU has exhibited a greater tolerance for right-wing extremism than for left-wing voices.
In September 2022, the school paid $11,000 in security for white nationalist Jared Taylor to speak on campus. In February 2023, it hosted a seminar at Gammage Auditorium featuring several conservative speakers, including Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. And in April, the school hosted a campaign event for Kari Lake, the U.S. Senate candidate who has insinuated several times that supporters should be ready to commit violence with guns.
Late last year, though, the university decided at the last minute to cancel a Nov. 17 event with Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the only Arab American in the U.S. Congress. Then-state Rep. Athena Salman called the decision “ethnic intimidation to shut down the voice of the person who is speaking out against such violence against the Palestinian people.”
