A viral image of a man on the Stanford University campus wearing a headband that resembles the one worn by Hamas terrorist fighters was taken by two Jewish students concerned that the school had not sufficiently cracked down on the behavior anti-Semitic.
The two friends, who wished to remain anonymous for safety reasons, said they were walking Friday near White Plaza, the Northern California campus center where anti-Israel protesters have set up an encampment, when they spotted someone sitting having a picnic. painting.
After getting closer to the unidentified person, they realized that the headband he was wearing was the same type worn by members of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing.
“We were just in shock that someone could be like that in the middle of our campus,” one of the students told Fox News Digital. “I only went up to take the photo because I was there with my friend.
“We thought about going to him and telling him something, but then we thought it wasn’t worth it and, on the contrary, it could just be dangerous.”
The image of the man sitting at the table wearing the green headband with Arabic writing and a face covering quickly made the rounds on social media, catching the attention of university administrators.
“We have received numerous expressions of concern regarding a photo circulating on social media of an individual in White Plaza who appeared to be wearing a green headband similar to those worn by Hamas members,” the school said in a statement. Wednesday. “
We find this deeply concerning as Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States government. We were unable to identify the individual but forwarded the photo to the FBI.
Fox News Digital has contacted the university. The FBI’s San Francisco field office declined to comment on the matter.
Like many college campuses across the country, Stanford has seen pro-Palestinian protesters straddle or cross the free speech line with rhetoric that some consider anti-Semitic about Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip controlled by Hamas after the terrorist group’s deadly attack on October 7. Israeli communities.
“People can disagree with things, and that’s okay. We’re at a university,” the second student who took the photo told Fox News Digital.
He noted that some protesters are not even able to express the reasons why they oppose Israel.
“It’s just very frustrating. You ask people where Israel and Palestine are on a map. They won’t even know where it is,” he said. “If you are in this tent (encampment), you must know what you are defending.”
What worried them more was that someone could wear a headband worn by a designated terrorist group on an American college campus.
Both students said they want Stanford administrators to take a more aggressive stance to stamp out speech that incites violence.
Fox News Digital has contacted the university. The FBI’s San Francisco field office declined to comment on the matter.
Like many college campuses across the country, Stanford has seen pro-Palestinian protesters straddle or cross the free speech line with rhetoric that some consider anti-Semitic about Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip controlled by Hamas after the terrorist group’s deadly attack on October 7. Israeli communities.
“People can disagree with things, and that’s okay. We’re at a university,” the second student who took the photo told Fox News Digital.
He noted that some protesters are not even able to express the reasons why they oppose Israel.
“It’s just very frustrating. You ask people where Israel and Palestine are on a map. They won’t even know where it is,” he said. “If you’re in this tent (encampment), you need to know what you’re standing for.”
What worried them more was that someone could wear a headband worn by a designated terrorist group on an American college campus.
Both students said they want Stanford administrators to take a more aggressive stance to stamp out speech that incites violence.
“It’s really hard to be a Jewish student on campus now,” one said. “It’s hard to see your peers, some of whom willingly spew hate or knowingly do things that aren’t right, but others just kind of follow because that’s what they think is right.”
In another statement to Fox News Digital about the protests on college campuses, the FBI said it was “in close contact with state and local law enforcement partners and, as we do In the normal course of business, we will share any information regarding potential threats.” .
“We respect the right of individuals to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights, and the FBI investigates individuals who violate federal law through violence or other criminal activity,” the agency said.
New York Post
