An Arizona State University research scholar is on leave after video shows him verbally attacking a woman in a hijab

Arizona State University said it is investigating a postdoctoral research scholar, Jonathan Yudelman, after a video showed him confronting and cursing at a woman wearing a hijab.

A video showing a confrontation between a man and a woman wearing a hijab during a pro-Israel rally at Arizona State University is further highlighting the roiling tensions on college campuses across the US over the Israel-Hamas war and a steep increase in reported antisemitic and anti-Muslim incidents. Here are the latest developments:

Arizona State University investigation: A scholar at ASU’s School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership is on leave while university officials investigate a video that shows him confronting and cursing at a woman wearing a hijab during a pro-Israel rally, a school spokesperson said.

More than 800 UCLA faculty and staff call for chancellor’s resignation: Hundreds of University of California Los Angeles faculty and staff signed a letter calling for the immediate resignation of Chancellor Gene Block, saying those involved in recent protests on campus have been “wronged” by the school’s administration, the group announced Thursday. The group is calling for “legal and academic amnesty” for students, faculty and staff who were arrested during protests on campus, Matt Barreto, a professor of Chicano studies and political science, said at a Thursday news conference. CNN has reached out to Block for comment. The letter also calls for a vote of no confidence from the UCLA academic senate and the union representing librarians and non-senate faculty throughout the University of California system. “We condemn the UCLA administration for enabling a terrorizing Zionist attack and orchestrating a violent police offensive against its students,” said a member of a group of medics who provided medical support to protesters during demonstrations.

University of Southern California officials censured: USC’s Academic Senate voted 21-7 Wednesday to censure the university’s president and provost over their recent decisions to remove pro-Palestinian protesters from campus and change graduation plans, according to the student-led USC Annenberg Media. The resolution calls for a task force to investigate administrative decisions and provide a public report.

Hundreds of Columbia University students sign letter addressing tension on campus: The letter, titled “In Our Name: A Message from Jewish Students at Columbia University,” calls out reported antisemitic incidents on campus that have “forced us into our activism and forced us to publicly defend our Jewish identities.” Columbia has been the focal point of pro-Palestinian demonstrations on college campuses and more than 100 people were arrested last week after barricading themselves in the university’s Hamilton Hall.

Emory undergraduate students vote no-confidence in school president: A little more than 40% of undergraduates at the university participated in the vote against university president Gregory L. Fenves, the Emory Student Government Association said, with 73% voting in favor of the referendum. The vote came less than a week after Emory’s College of Arts and Sciences faculty senate overwhelmingly approved a vote of no confidence against Fenves. The votes are a symbolic condemnation of the university’s choice to call in outside law enforcement officers who arrested students and faculty during a pro-Palestinian protest on campus on April 25. The vote results may now go to the Board of Trustees, who would have the discretion to remove Fenves. “While we take any concerns expressed by members of our community seriously, Emory community members are sharing a wide range of perspectives that are not reflected in the motion passed by SGA,” Emory spokesperson Laura Diamond told CNN.

Dozens arrested at George Washington University: More than 30 protesters were arrested at or near George Washington University early Wednesday as the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC, worked to clear a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus, officials said. Encampments were also cleared in recent days at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

House lawmakers question liberal cities’ school officials over antisemitism: School officials from New York City; Berkeley, California; and Montgomery County, Maryland, were questioned Wednesday over their response to alleged antisemitic incidents by members of the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education. The session marked the first such congressional hearing to focus on K-12 schools.

Video leads to university investigation

The video that sparked an investigation at Arizona State was recorded Sunday during a pro-Israel rally on the school’s campus in Tempe, according to CNN affiliate KPNX.

The 58-second video shows a postdoctoral research scholar, Jonathan Yudelman, continually moving toward a woman in a hijab as she tries to move away from him.

“You’re disrespecting my religious boundaries,” the woman can be heard saying. She has not been identified.

Yudelman replies, “You disrespect my sense of humanity, b-tch.”

It’s unclear what happened before and after the video was recorded, and CNN is working to confirm who recorded it. The clip has been posted to various pro-Palestinian social media channels.

The same day, Yudelman was interviewed by a KPNX news crew covering the rally.

“It was important to come out and make a statement for the community,” Yudelman told the outlet. “I see what’s going on all across the country – campuses being taken over by supporters of terrorism and Jewish students being intimidated.” It’s unclear if Yudelman made this statement before or after the confrontation with the woman.

Arizona State is aware of the allegations against Yudelman and is investigating, a university spokesperson told CNN. The Tempe Police Department is also aware of the incident and is investigating, the department told CNN.

“Dr. Yudelman is on leave and will remain so pending the outcome of the investigation,” the statement said.

Yudelman did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.

The Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations called Yudelman’s behavior in the video “disgusting” and “dangerous.”

“CAIR-Arizona strongly condemns Professor Jonathan Yudelman’s alleged harassment of an American Muslim woman near a pro-Israel demonstration.” the group said in a statement Monday.

“We call on Arizona State University to terminate his employment if these allegations are verified, and we call on law enforcement to investigate and file any appropriate criminal charges.

USC president and provost censured

The resolution to censure the University of Southern California’s president and provost says there is “widespread dissatisfaction and concern among the faculty about administrative decisions and communication” related to the removal of pro-Palestinian protesters from campus and changes to graduation plans.

The censure of USC President Carol Folt and Provost Andrew Guzman passed in the university’s Academic Senate “after a chaotic three-hour session Wednesday afternoon,” the USC Annenberg Media reported.

The resolution calls for “the immediate creation of a task force to investigate these events and the associated administrative decisions and communication, and to provide a public report of its findings by September 15, 2024; and calls on the President of the University to cooperate fully with the task force’s investigation.”

The vote to censure comes after the university announced last month it canceled valedictorian Asna Tabassum’s commencement speech over security concerns.

“The intensity of feelings, fueled by both social media and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, has grown to include many voices outside of USC and has escalated to the point of creating substantial risks relating to security and disruption at commencement,” the university said.

Tabassum, a first-generation South Asian American Muslim, said she was “shocked” and “profoundly disappointed” in the decision.

As pro-Palestinian demonstrations on the campus escalated, the school’s main stage commencement ceremony was canceled and the Los Angeles Police Department has helped campus police clear encampments on the campus.

‘We would like to speak in our name’

More than 500 Columbia students have so far signed the “In Our Name” letter, which was shared online by Columbia assistant professor Shai Davidai and many others, including Eden Yadegar, president of Students Supporting Israel at Columbia University.

The letter says they are “average students,” most of whom “did not choose to be political activists.”

“We do not bang on drums and chant catchy slogans. We are average students, just trying to make it through finals much like the rest of you,” the letter says. “Those who demonize us under the cloak of anti-Zionism forced us into our activism and forced us to publicly defend our Jewish identities.”

In the letter, students express their pride in Israel and the diverse voices coming from the Jewish people.

“Our love for Israel does not necessitate blind political conformity. It’s quite the opposite,” according to the letter. “All it takes are a couple of coffee chats with us to realize that our visions for Israel differ dramatically from one another. Yet we all come from a place of love and an aspiration for a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”

The letter also calls out reported antisemitic incidents on campus in recent months.

“Students at Columbia have chanted ‘we don’t want no Zionists here,’ alongside ‘death to the Zionist State’ and to ‘go back to Poland,’ where our relatives lie in mass graves,” according to the letter.

“One thing is for sure. We will not stop standing up for ourselves. We are proud to be Jews, and we are proud to be Zionists,” the letter says before ending on a hopeful note.

“While campus may be riddled with hateful rhetoric and simplistic binaries now, it is never too late to start repairing the fractures and begin developing meaningful relationships across political and religious divides,” the letter says. “Our tradition tells us, ‘Love peace and pursue peace.’ We hope you will join us in earnestly pursuing peace, truth, and empathy. Together we can repair our campus.”

CNN’s Rob Frehse, Melissa Alonso, Jillian Sykes, Nick Valencia, Jade Gordon, Devon Sayers, Cindy Von Quednow and Cheri Mossburg contributed to this report.

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