County officials are supporting Jewish students at Pitt following recent anti-Semitic incidents

Allegheny County’s top elected official on Wednesday told Jewish students shaken by the recent spate of anti-Semitic acts on and near the University of Pittsburgh campus that she would make every effort to keep them safe in Oakland.

County Executive Sara Innamorato met for 45 minutes with Jewish community leaders and interacted with dozens of Jewish students, saying she would carefully draw the line between free speech and ethnic intimidation.

Palestinians “deserve to be heard, and their pain and trauma deserve to be recognized,” Innamorato told TribLive. “Moreover, we have a strong Jewish community here and they should have space to worship without the threat of violence.”

Last week, the FBI and Pittsburgh police launched an investigation after a Jewish Pitt student said he was attacked near campus by a group of six to eight men who used anti-Semitic language.

The student was wearing a necklace with the Star of David, a Jewish symbol that also appears on the Israeli flag.

A police complaint states that on August 30, two Jewish Pitt students wearing kippahs, or hats, were attacked by a man wearing a keffiyeh, a Middle Eastern scarf often associated with Palestine. Authorities refused to label it a hate crime.

These events took place almost a year after Israel’s bombing campaign and ground invasion of Palestine in the Gaza Strip, which left more than 40,000 Palestinians dead and thousands injured.

On Tuesday, Iran – whose proxy, the Hamas terrorist group, controls most of the Gaza Strip – fired nearly 200 rockets at the Jewish state as Israel took further steps toward widespread military action in neighboring Lebanon.

Innamorato on Wednesday appeared to be pushing back against calls made by some demonstrators during pro-Palestinian protests this summer for Pitt to cut ties with organizations linked to Israel.

One such group – cited on social media by the Pitt Apartheid Divest Coalition, which took part in the protest – was the Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh.

The Oakland group that helped organize the Jewish New Year celebrations previewed by Innamorato this week bills itself as a “centerpiece of Jewish campus life” for students in Pittsburgh. On its website, the group also said it would encourage students “to support Israel and the global Jewish nation.”

“We do not believe in removing Jewish-led organizations from campus,” Innamorato said when asked about Hillel JUC. “It is our duty to protect freedom of speech. But that doesn’t mean you can call for the removal of Jewish students from public places.”

One Jewish student leader said she doesn’t feel unsafe on Pitt’s campus, but has become a little more aware of how she publicly displays her faith.

Vikki Kotlyar, a 21-year-old Pitt student from New Jersey, said she will no longer always wear a Star of David necklace on campus. However, she emphasized that she seeks solace in her community.

“One thing that the Jewish community does really well, especially in dark times, is come together and be there for each other,” said Kotlyar, who is president of the Chabad Jewish student group at Pitt.

“Meetings like this are important for us to show our strength,” she said. “As a Jewish leader on campus, this is personal to me.”

Another Jewish student – Pitt freshman Julian Reinstein – said he was walking near the Cathedral of Science on August 30, just an hour before two Jewish students were attacked.

“It could have been me,” said Reinstein, 19, of San Diego, who wore a skullcap to Wednesday’s event. “And it’s stunning.”

Jewish community leader Marjorie Mann said she “felt heard” by Innamorato.

“I think it’s important for people to be heard, but being heard is not enough,” Mann said. “I think our city’s leaders must take a strong stand: condemn the violence and the rhetoric that leads to it.”

Innamorato did encourage increased dialogue. She asked the Jewish leaders she met to build or strengthen interfaith coalitions with groups like the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh, whose mosque – the city’s largest – is just a few blocks from where Wednesday’s event took place.

As of Friday, 220 anti-Semitic acts or incidents in the Pittsburgh area had been reported to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, a security official there said. This is more than last year at this time – 204.

Innamorato’s presence in light of recent events “is the kind of alliance we need from our elected leaders,” said Jeremy Kazzaz, who was at the meeting and leads the Beacon Coalition, a Jewish political group based in Pittsburgh. “We are waiting for more such information from the district authorities.”