Emily Benedek
Tablet, Sept. 10, 2024
“Bratman grew up in the Soviet Union, so he believes that he understands where all this is headed. His instincts now tell him that violence is coming.”
On Tuesday night, Sept. 3, Ilya Bratman—U.S. Army veteran, CUNY English teacher, and Hillel executive director at eight CUNY and SUNY schools—hosted a welcome-back dinner for Hillel students at a kosher restaurant near Baruch College. Soon after their entrance into Mr. Broadway, guests were surrounded by a chanting, braying, mob.
“CUNY, CUNY, You can’t hide. You support genocide!”
“Terrorist! Terrorist! Terrorist!”
“All Zionists are racist!”
They blocked the doorway, preventing students and other diners from leaving, held photos of murdered babies in the students’ faces, and even hit a Hillel staffer. One of the male protesters, his face concealed by a mask, shoulders draped in a kaffiyeh, creepily formed his fingers in the shape of a triangle—Hamas’ symbol for a military target.
Then the slurs got personal. To a clearly Jewish-looking couple walking down the street, “You ugly ass bitch! Go back to Brooklyn!”
And, then, the kicker: “Where’s Hersh?”
For an hour.
When the cops arrived after 30 minutes of the melee, they moved the protesters “5 feet away” from the entrance, according to Bratman, placing them close to the restaurant windows, which they then hammered with their hands. There was nothing they wouldn’t say, from “You ain’t going home tonight,” to “Dogs off campus.” … [To read the full article, click here]