A University of Massachusetts student was charged for allegedly hitting another student at a demonstration in favor of the Israeli captives held by Hamas on Monday. The man has been identified as Efe Ercelik.

The Jewish student organization Hillel arranged the “Bring Them Home: Solidarity Walk and Installation,” where the incident took place on Friday. Students at UMass received this information via a statement from Assistant Vice Chancellor and Chief of Police Tyrone Parham, as well as Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Campus Life Shelley Perdomo-Ahmed.

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Who is Efe Ercelik?

Efe Ercelik is a student at the University of Massachusetts. He is a resident of Amherst. He was scheduled to be arraigned on seven charges at Eastern Hampshire District Court on Monday morning. According to the UMass Amherst Police Department report, Ercelik violently approached two students who had attended the solidarity gathering on Friday just before 4:00 p.m.

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He allegedly shouted obscenities, disparaging stereotypes, and slurs directed at Jews during the altercation. Ercelik is charged with striking and kicking a student to cause them physical harm. He also allegedly stole from the victim’s hands a little Israeli flag, which he then destroyed.

Ercelik was freed on $250 bail with instructions to stay away from the two victims who were specifically referenced in the report and to stay off the UMass Amherst campus completely. His next court appointment is January 16, when a motion to waive the charge of assault and battery with the intent to intimidate will be considered along with a pre-trial hearing.

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Ercelik’s defense lawyer asked the judge to grant an exception to the campus restriction for particular situations, such as in-person exams, but the motion was turned down. Following a two-day written request, the defense argued for discretion at the university’s discretion.