Reuven Kahane, a 57-year-old man in the United States, drove a car into a crowd of pro-Palestinian protesters.
The demonstrators were organized after the NYPD swept the occupied Hamilton Hall (renamed "Hind Hall" by protesters in honor of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian child killed by Israeli forces in Gaza) and the "Gaza Solidarity Camp" on April 30.
Demonstrations marched back and forth outside the offices of the trustees of the Columbia University Foundation to protest the investment of university funds in Israeli businesses.
Rubén Kahane himself said that he was driving home and had an altercation with protesters marching nearby. As the protesters began to disperse, Kahane drove his car into the crowd and crashed into 55-year-old Marilyn Novak, who was taken to hospital for minor injuries.
Ruwen Kahane's cousin is Mel Kahane, founder of the well-known Jewish organization Jewish Defense Alliance, which the FBI designated a "right-wing terrorist organization" and "violent extremism." In 1990, Mel Kahane was assassinated. Rubén Kahane, who was 23 at the time, said: "This is the last sacrifice". After the collision, this relationship was dug up by the media. Rubén Kahane insisted that the relationship had nothing to do with the case.
The police then arrested Rubén Kahane. But shockingly
Police also arrested the victim, Marilan Novak, on charges of attempted criminal prank (4) and unlawful assembly arrest, which are Class A and B misdemeanors, respectively. Another 63-year-old protester was arrested for attempted criminal prank of the fourth degree, a Class A misdemeanor.
Kahane was released without bail on Wednesday morning, according to New York State Criminal Court documents, and he was said to have "received calm and friendly treatment" from the NYPD, while the victim was "arrested in the hospital and handcuffed to bed."
When a powerful car hits someone, the victim will be arrested for breaking the car with his leg, which looks like a real case of Internet jokes actually happening in the lighthouse country.
Fortunately, the refusal of New York prosecutors to prosecute the two protesters can be regarded as the last face of American justice.