A supporter of Israel from Cleveland Heights, Ohio who attempted to counter-protest at a pro-Palestinian rally on May 14 in Westlake, Ohio told the Cleveland Jewish News that he and his wife were assaulted and his kippah was burned.
“They burnt my kipper, there’s no equivalence there,” said Alec Popivker in an interview with the newspaper.
Popivker and his wife were carrying Israeli flags. They recorded the incident, which they called a hate crime.
Popivker and his wife were placed in a police car and driven away for their safety as it was a “melee situation” according to Westlake police who described the pro-Palestinian protestors as a “big, angry crowd.”
Popviker said the police have assigned him a case number and he intends to file a full report.
He and his wife also demonstrated at a May 16 protest in downtown Cleveland without incident where there was police protection.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)