Man spits at pro-Palestinian protester.
(Updated) City police are looking for a man who appeared to shout an anti-trans slur at a pro-Palestinian protester before spitting in that protester’s face.
The spitting incident took place during a tense, widely covered protest of the visit to New Haven by far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir — who was pelted with bottles later in the night by other protesters.
On Friday, Police Chief Karl Jacobson told the Independent that city police believe they have identified the spitter, and are confident they will issue a warrant for his arrest.
The 13-second video, a copy of which the Independent obtained this week, shows a man with a large beard, red sweater, and dark blue baseball cap in the midst of a crowd of protesters.
The incident appeared to take place at dusk on Orange Street; New Haven Academy is visible in the background, putting this incident just north of the headquarters of Shabtai, the Jewish society where Ben-Gvir visited and spoke to 130 mostly Yale affiliates that night.
The man is shown right up in the face of a protester, who is masked and wearing a pink baseball cap. The man appears to say, “Ah beautiful, because I care about a fucking tranny,” before spitting in that protester’s face and then walking away. The crowd responds by following the man and blasting air horns. “Go home!” someone shouts.
Asked on Friday, Police Chief Karl Jacobson confirmed for the Independent that he has seen the video, and that police are investigating the incident.
He said that police believe they have identified the spitter and are preparing to make an arrest.
The person who was spat upon identifies as a queer Jew from Connecticut. They have asked to remain anonymous out of a concern for their safety.
Ken Krayeske, a local lawyer representing the person spat upon, told the Independent that he and his client are coming forward now primarily in an effort to identify the spitter.
“Initially, our goal is to try to identify the perpetrator and maybe there can be some healing,” he said. “Let’s see what happens in the criminal context, if anything goes forward,” he said, when asked if he also plans on filing a lawsuit in regards to this incident.
Krayeske has some experience representing protesters who were spat on during tense, high-profile protests across Connecticut. He is still representing Keren Prescott, a Black Lives Matter protester who, in Hartford on Jan. 6, 2021, was spat upon by a white woman, Yuliya Gilshtein. The spitter in that incident was ultimately arrested — though the hate crime charges were ultimately dropped. A state judge awarded Prescott nearly $300,000 in the form of a pre-judgment remedy. Krayeske is now seeking a summary judgment ruling for his client in that ongoing case. (Gilshteyn has also filed a countersuit against Prescott.)
“First of all, it’s a crime. Second of all, it’s a hate crime” given the apparent shouting of an anti-trans slur, Krayeske said when asked why the public should care that his client was spat upon at the April 23 protest on Orange Street.
“Let’s put aside the intractability of the Israeli-Palestinian question for a second and focus on the hate crime related to my client’s identity and say that it’s against the law to assault somebody because of their gender identity or their sexuality, period. That’s atrocious.” Krayeske said his client was wearing a trans rights T‑shirt at the time they were spat upon.
Krayeske said that his client was not affiliated with the organizers of the April 23 protest, and was not present when other protesters threw bottles at Ben-Gvir later in the night. “There is no justification for political violence,” he said.
He then stressed just how injurious being spat upon can be — as evidenced by the Keren Prescott case. “It should force us as a society to say, ‘Where are we heading with this?’ We shouldn’t hate this much. Our differences are not this great.”
Update: In response to a request for comment for this story, a Shabtai representative sent the Independent a link to a statement posted to Shabtai’s website. That post describes the April 23 visit by Ben-Gvir and corresponding protest as follows: “Outside the Mansion [where Shabtai is located], a few hundred local demonstrators surrounded the building whilst chanting antisemitic slurs and rallying for the terrorist group Hamas. Many threw bottles at the Parliamentarian and attendees, and shamelessly threatened the lives of the Yale students. Protesters were arrested and an investigation is ongoing.” The post does not address the spitting incident.
The Shabtai website post also includes two videos showing portions of Ben-Gvir’s speech and discussion with Shabtai attendees during his April 23 visit. Click here and here to watch.
Protesters throw water bottles at Ben-Gvir. Video by Nathaniel Rosenberg.