Allegheny County Executive backs Jewish students at Pitt in wake of recent antisemitic incidents

Allegheny County’s top elected official on Wednesday told Jewish students rattled by a recent spate of antisemitic acts at and near University of Pittsburgh’s campus that she will work to ensure they feel safe in Oakland.

County Executive Sara Innamorato met for 45 minutes with Jewish community leaders and interacted with dozens of Jewish students, saying she would strive to protect free speech as long as it doesn’t cross the line into ethnic intimidation.

Palestinians “deserve to be heard — and their pain and trauma deserves to be recognized,” Innamorato told TribLive. “Also, we have a strong Jewish community here and they should have the space to worship without threats of violence.”

Last week, the FBI and Pittsburgh police launched an investigation after a Jewish Pitt student said he was attacked near campus by a group of six to eight men who used antisemitic language.

The student was wearing a necklace of the Star of David, a Jewish symbol that also appears on the Israeli flag.

On Aug. 30, two Jewish Pitt students wearing yarmulkes, or skull caps, were assaulted by a man wearing a keffiyeh, a Middle Eastern scarf often associated with Palestine, a police complaint said. Authorities declined to label it a hate crime.

The events came nearly one year into the Israeli military’s bombing campaign and ground invasion in Palestine’s Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians and injured thousands more.

On Tuesday, Iran — whose proxy, the terrorist group Hamas, controls much of Gaza — launched nearly 200 missiles into the Jewish state as Israel took further steps toward broad military action in neighboring Lebanon.

Innamorato appeared to push back Wednesday against calls some demonstrators made during pro-Palestine protests this summer for Pitt to break ties with organizations associated with Israel.

One such group — cited on social media by the Pitt Apartheid Divest Coalition, which took part in a protest — was the Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh.

The Oakland-based group, which helped stage the Jewish new year celebration Innamorato previewed this week, bills itself as “the focal point for Jewish campus life” for Pittsburgh students. On its website, the group also said it will encourage students “to support Israel and global Jewish peoplehood.”

“We don’t believe in the removal of Jewish-led organizations off the campus,” said Innamorato, when asked about Hillel JUC. “It’s our duty to protect free speech. But, it doesn’t mean you can call for Jewish students to be removed from public places.”

One Jewish student leader said she doesn’t feel unsafe on Pitt’s campus — but she has become a little more conscious of how she displays her faith publicly.

Vikki Kotlyar, a 21-year-old Pitt senior from New Jersey, said she now always won’t wear her Star of David necklace on campus. She stressed, though, that she takes comfort in her community.

“One thing the Jewish community does really well, especially in dark times, is come together and be there for each other,” said Kotlyar, who serves as president of the Jewish student group Chabad at Pitt.

“Gatherings like this are important for us to show our strength,” she said. “And as a Jewish leader on campus, it’s personal for me.”

Another Jewish student — Pitt freshman Julian Reinstein — said he was walking near the Cathedral of Learning on Aug. 30 just an hour before the two Jewish students were attacked there.

“That could’ve been me,” said Reinstein, 19, of San Diego, who wore his yarmulke to Wednesday’s event. “And that’s mind-blowing.”

Jewish community leader Marjorie Mann said she “felt heard” by Innamorato.

“I feel it’s important for people to be heard, but being heard is not enough,” Mann said. “I think the leaders of our city need to take a strong position: to condemn the violence and the rhetoric that leads to it.”

Innamorato did encourage increased dialogue. She asked Jewish leaders she met to build or strengthen interfaith coalitions with groups like the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh, whose mosque — the city’s largest — sits just blocks from where Wednesday’s event was held.

As of Friday, 220 antisemitic acts or incidents in the Pittsburgh area were reported to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, a security official there said. That’s up from 204 last year at this time.

Innamorato’s presence in light of recent events “is the kind of ally-ship we need from our elected leaders,” said Jeremy Kazzaz, who was at the meeting and leads Beacon Coalition, a Pittsburgh-based Jewish political group. “We look forward to seeing more of that from the county executive.”