20 y.o. Hate Crime Suspect from Columbia University Protests Turns Himself In

After hurling a rock at the face of a pro-Israel protester back in April, 20-year-old Zuhdi Ahmed turned himself in Thursday to face hate crime charges for assault, aggravated harassment, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon.

Ahmed, a student at Hunter College from Ossining, NY, was allegedly a part of a group of protesters that attacked a Columbia University student on April 20. One of those involved was James Carlson, the 40-year-old pro-Palestine protester who made headlines for taking over Columbia’s Hamilton Hall at the height of the on-campus conflict.

Also known as Cody Carlson, the erstwhile freedom fighter is the son of millionaire advertising firm founders Richard and Sandy Tarlow and owns a $3.4 million townhouse in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Carlson has zero affiliation with Columbia and was instead dubbed a “professional outsider” by the NYPD. There is no evidence that Ahmed has any affiliation with the school either.

The victim, Jonathan Lederer, is a 22-year-old computer science student at Columbia who routinely came to the pro-Palestine protests on his campus with an Israeli flag in hand.

“I have been asked the same question by many people in my life: ‘Do you feel safe on campus as a Jew?’” he wrote in a personal story for The Free Press, published the day after the attack. “I have always maintained the importance of standing our ground rather than letting fear drive us away.”

Lederer continued:

“For an hour, 20 of us stood on the sundial in the middle of Columbia’s campus with Israeli and American flags and sang peaceful songs such as Matisyahu’s “One Day” and “V’hi She’amda”—a much-needed ode to the hope and perseverance of the Jewish people in the face of enemies who seek our destruction.

Even as we sang lyrics such as “We don’t want to fight no more, there will be no more war,” we were met with hostility. Masked keffiyeh-wearers came to us face-to-face, trying to intimidate us. They chanted, “F**k Israel, Israel’s a bitch!” We were told, “You guys are all inbred.” They threw water in our faces. These groups are not fairly described as “pro-Palestine.” They are active supporters of Hamas and they say so explicitly: “We say justice, you say how? Burn Tel Aviv to the ground,” one group chanted by the gates of my school. “Hamas, we love you. We support your rockets, too.”

Lederer said he was with his twin brother, David, the night he was attacked.

In March, David identified himself and his brother as the two guys you always see counterprotesting Columbia’s Students for Justice in Palestine rallies in a piece he penned for the Columbia Daily Spectator, the school’s independent student newspaper.

“In truth, I have received pushback from students in both the anti-Israel and pro-Israel camps for my participation in these demonstrations,” he wrote. “But I do not plan on stopping anytime soon.”

Columbia SJP could not be reached and the Lederer brothers did not respond to comment.