A man from New York was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with a federal hate crime after he reportedly assaulted anti-Israeli protesters in the city multiple times between 2024 and 2025.
Tarek Bazluk, 20, faces three counts of hate crimes allegedly aimed at Jewish individuals during three protests related to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Jay Clayton, a lawyer from the Southern District of New York, noted that Bazluk was arrested following each incident but “he claimed innocence yet quickly reverted to violence, specifically targeting Jews in New York City.”
The first reported attack happened on April 15, 2024, during a protest outside the New York Stock Exchange. According to the Department of Justice, Bazluk was wearing a green headband that is commonly associated with Hamas.
It’s worth mentioning that during anti-Israel protests, a Jewish student at Columbia University made some alarming comments, adding a troubling layer to the ongoing tensions.
In another incident, Bazluk allegedly rushed into a group of pro-Israel demonstrators, kicking a Jewish student in the stomach as he was being escorted to a police vehicle. The victim was near a Jewish protester, who was identifiable by his kippa and was waving an Israeli flag while singing.
On December 9, 2024, Bazluk reportedly assaulted another Jewish student at a protest near Upper University in Manhattan. This second victim, along with his brother—both wearing kippas—was carrying an Israeli flag when the incident occurred. After Bazluk allegedly tried to steal the flag and run, the brothers pursued him. After retrieving their flag, he purportedly approached the second victim and punched him in the face.
There was a third attack in January 2025, where Bazluk was accused of physically confronting another Jewish person at a protest. This victim was identifiable by their Israeli flag and other Jewish symbols.
During this encounter, Bazluk allegedly harassed the victim and then punched him, all while using disparaging language.
As described, Bazluk seemingly engaged in these attacks with the intent to harm Jewish New Yorkers, differentiating them based solely on their identity.
Law enforcement is also investigating Bazluk’s mobile phone, which reportedly contains anti-Semitic messages and material supporting Hamas, according to court documents cited by the DOJ.
In these messages, Bazluk made offensive remarks about Jews and expressed disturbing sentiments related to his family’s connections to Hamas.
If convicted on all three federal hate crime charges, Bazluk could face a maximum of 30 years in prison, marking the first instance of such charges being filed since the increase of anti-Israel protests on American campuses post-October 7, 2023.
