Yale student accused of stabbing Jewish student in eye, tearing down American flags during campus protest against US, Israel

On Saturday, Yale students tore down American flags on campus during ongoing demonstrations against Israel and the US, in which students formed an "autonomous zone" and have been occupying school grounds on behalf of advocacy for the Palestinians.

One of the protesters allegedly stabbed a Jewish student in the eye with a Palestinian flag pole during the protest. The victim, who has been identified as Sahar Tartak, is the editor-in-chief of the Yale Free Press and was there documenting the event, according to the New York Post.

Tartak told the outlet that the anti-Israel student mob formed a blockade around her and a friend after they had singled them out for wearing Hasidic Jewish attire.

"There's hundreds of people taunting me and waving the middle finger at me, and then this person waves a Palestinian flag in my face and jabs it in my eye," she said.

"When I tried to yell and go after him, the protesters got in a line and stopped me," she added, explaining that she has been unable to identify the alleged assailant.

Video footage taken by Tartak before she was allegedly assaulted shows a mob of Yale students chanting "Viva Viva Palestina," which translates to "Long live Palestine," as they tore down an American flag from one of the university's flag poles.

The group of students can be seen cheering as the American flag hits the ground, throwing their fists into the air in celebration.

Yale students set up the autonomous zone on Friday evening to show solidarity with students at fellow Ivy League school Columbia University, who made global news after the NYPD removed their anti-Israel autonomous zone, which they dubbed the "Liberated Zone." They had set up on school premises earlier in the week.

Students engaging in Columbia University's anti-Israel protests have openly expressed support for the Palestinian terror group Hamas, prompting widespread indignation and the convening of a Congressional hearing between lawmakers and university officials over blatant antisemitism being allowed to occur at the college. 

During the congressional hearing, Columbia University president Minouse Shafik refused to characterize the popular pro-Palestinian chant "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" as antisemitic. Critics claim the chant is a call for the genocide of Jews as it is a direct advocation for the eradication of the nation of Israel.

Shafik then expressed regret after she allowed NYPD officers to dismantle and remove students from the pro-Hamas autonomous zone taking over her campus. Among those arrested was Minnesota Democrat Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's 21-year-old daughter, Isra Hirsi, who is a student at Columbia's sister college Barnard and has been participating in the protests.

Shortly before Yale students tore down the American flags, US Congress passed a multi-billion foreign aid spending bill for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan. During the vote on the House floor, Democrats waved Ukrainian flags on the House floor.