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Jewish students assaulted and Hillel targeted at Ohio State, prompting state to beef up police presence
(JTA) – The governor of Ohio ordered extra law enforcement patrols around Ohio State University campus last week after a 24-hour period in which two Jewish students were reported assaulted and student activists attempted to steal Israeli flags from the campus Hillel.
The heightened tensions at one of the country’s largest universities are the latest example of how activism around Israel has intensified on college campuses amid the country’s ongoing war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Donors, Jewish groups and politicians have pushed institutions of higher education to take more forceful action to deter antisemitism and protect Jewish students, as Jews have been threatened or assaulted on campuses including Cornell, Columbia, and the University of Massachusetts.
The assault of the Jewish students occurred early on Friday morning, according to the Columbus Jewish News. Two people leaving a bar engaged in a “verbal altercation” with “two Middle Eastern males” who punched them in the face, Columbus police told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, adding that the suspects fled on foot while the victims took an Uber to the hospital.
The suspects had reportedly uttered the words “K–e Zionist” and asked the victims what their religion was. “Both victims believe this to be a hate crime,” Columbus Police Department spokesperson Sergeant Joe Albert told JTA in a statement. Albert did not indicate whether the police department would be prosecuting it as a hate crime.
Hours earlier, on Thursday, OSU Hillel reported that two female students had entered the building and stolen several small Israeli flags. When Hillel staff confronted them, they raced out of the building yelling “F–k you,” “You support genocide” and “Free Palestine,” Columbus police told JTA.
The staff alerted law enforcement and has a video recording of the students responsible, OSU Hillel CEO Naomi Lamb said in a statement posted to social media Friday. Lamb added that she would push the school’s administration “to clearly and unequivocally condemn this attack on the center of Jewish life at OSU.”
“We continue to be here for our students, and their physical and emotional safety remains top priority,” she said.
Lamb did not immediately return JTA requests for comment.
In an email to the campus community later on Friday, acting OSU President Peter Mohler condemned both incidents. Mohler wrote that they “directly targeted our Jewish community” and indicated the university would be treating them as hate crimes.
“I want to be direct and clear — the university has no tolerance for acts of hatred or violence. Antisemitism is despicable and has no place in our community,” Mohler wrote. “The university will pursue all action possible against anyone committing hate crimes on or near our campus.”
Ohio GOP Governor Mike DeWine said in his own statement about the incidents that he was ordering the extra police patrols to campus.
“Two antisemitic incidents have occurred in the past 24 hours against Ohio State students,” he said in the statement. “We will not tolerate hate and violence on our college campuses or anywhere in Ohio. These are despicable acts, and as Governor, I will ensure that the State continues our efforts to protect all Ohio students.”
OSU was also the site of recent protests, both in-person and online, over a campus art museum’s handling of an ongoing exhibit showcasing the work of a Palestinian artist who appeared to celebrate Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.
The museum recently announced it would leave up the exhibit by Jumana Manna, despite calls from some Jewish artists to take it down. But the museum canceled a planned panel discussion featuring Manna, which prompted protests by pro-Palestinian students and faculty. Like the building housing OSU Hillel, the museum is funded by Les Wexner, a major Jewish philanthropist from the Columbus area.
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The post Jewish students assaulted and Hillel targeted at Ohio State, prompting state to beef up police presence appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Trump Hosts Qatari Prime Minister After Israeli Attack in Doha
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
US President Donald Trump held dinner with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, days after US ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, a strike that risked derailing US-backed efforts to broker a truce in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-old conflict. The attack was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could escalate tensions in a region already on edge.
Trump expressed annoyance about the strike in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sought to assure the Qataris that such attacks would not happen again.
Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani were joined by a top Trump adviser, US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Great dinner with POTUS. Just ended,” Qatar’s deputy chief of mission, Hamah Al-Muftah, said on X.
The White House confirmed the dinner had taken place but offered no details.
The session followed an hour-long meeting that al-Thani had at the White House on Friday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A source briefed on the meeting said they discussed Qatar’s future as a mediator in the region and defense cooperation in the wake of the Israeli strikes against Hamas in Doha.
Trump said he was unhappy with Israel’s strike, which he described as a unilateral action that did not advance US or Israeli interests.
Washington counts Qatar as a strong Gulf ally. Qatar has been a main mediator in long-running negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and for a post-conflict plan for the territory.
Al-Thani blamed Israel on Tuesday for trying to sabotage chances for peace but said Qatar would not be deterred from its role as mediator.
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Trump Urges NATO Countries to Halt Russian Oil Purchases
US President Donald Trump gestures during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Aug. 26, 2025. Photo: Jonathan Ernst via Reuters Connect
i24 News – US President Donald Trump issued a letter to NATO nations on Saturday, impressing upon them to stop purchasing Russian oil and impose major sanctions on the regime of Vladimir Putin to end its war in Ukraine.
“I am ready to do major Sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO Nations STOP BUYING OIL FROM RUSSIA. As you know, NATO’S commitment to WIN has been far less than 100%, and the purchase of Russian Oil, by some, has been shocking! It greatly weakens your negotiating position, and bargaining power, over Russia,” the message read.
“Anyway, I am ready to ‘go’ when you are. Just say when? I believe that this, plus NATO, as a group, placing 50% to 100% TARIFFS ON CHINA, to be fully withdrawn after the WAR with Russia and Ukraine is ended, will also be of great help in ENDING this deadly, but RIDICULOUS, WAR. China has a strong control, and even grip, over Russia, and these powerful Tariffs will break that grip.”
Trump’s post comes after the recent flight of multiple Russian drones into Poland, widely perceived an escalatory move by Russia as it was entering the airspace of a NATO ally. Poland intercepted the drones, yet Trump played down the severity of the incident and Russia’s motives by saying it “could have been a mistake.”
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Netanyahu Says Getting Rid of Hamas Chiefs in Qatar Would Remove Main Obstacle to Gaza Deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the US Independence Day reception, known as the annual “Fourth of July” celebration, hosted by Newsmax, in Jerusalem, Aug. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that getting rid of Hamas chiefs living in Qatar would remove the main obstacle to releasing all hostages and ending the war in Gaza.
Israel on Tuesday targeted the Hamas leadership in Doha.