Jewish University of Pittsburgh student attacked near campus recounts incident

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The Jewish University of Pittsburgh student which was attacked at the end of September while wearing a Star of David necklace, shared his story for the first time, saying he had no intention of hiding his religious identity.

Brandon Bowman told KDKA-TV he was walking home late at night when a man walking with a group of about seven other people made eye contact with him and his necklace.

“They identified me as Jewish, and then they said things about Israel (and) my religion,” Bowman said.

They included defamatory slurs, insults against Jews and other “vile” inflammatory remarks, he said. Bowman told KDKA-TV he stood his ground during the anti-Semitic attack.

“I said, ‘I don’t tolerate what you’re saying to me about my religion and my identity,'” Bowman said. “While standing my ground, they decided it would be a good idea to hit me, attack me, kick me on the body because I was Jewish.”

A nearby store owner intervened and Bowman returned home with a bruised lip.

The pain was intense and that moment changed my life.

“I’ve been made jokes about Jews, you know, and people make subtle comments about my identity, but this is sort of the first time I’ve been attacked for my identity, and it was a period very difficult for me,” Bowman said. “Not only was I physically injured, but I was demoralized.”

Despite what happened, he has no intention of taking off his necklace.

“I wear my Star of David necklace because I want every Jew to be comfortable with their Star of David,” Bowman said. “I have a brother who is a freshman at the University of Maryland. I want him to be proud to wear a star.”

The same goes, he says, for every other Jewish student at the University of Pittsburgh.

By sharing his story, Bowman said he hoped to raise awareness about something he said was happening on college campuses across the country.

Pittsburgh police, who are investigating the attack, have not said whether the attackers were Pitt students. The attack took place a few blocks from the university campus.

Bowman is friends with the two Jewish students who were attacked end of August.

“I worry about future students,” Bowman said. “You know, they want to go to Pitt, but they’re worried about these attacks, and I tell them we’re not backing down. You don’t back down from people who want to intimidate Jewish students anywhere. We’re here , we are proud and we have a community on our shoulders.”