An Arab Muslim student at Stanford University was targeted by a pro-Israel student in what is being investigated as a hate crime.

Shortly before 2 p.m. on Friday, the Arab student was crossing the street near the student residences when he was hit by a car and the driver sped off while yelling, “F— you and your people.” 

Officials reported that the student sustained non-life-threatening injuries and is currently still hospitalized. According to a statement from the victim after the incident, the driver made eye contact with him before accelerating. “As soon as he hit me, as my body was turning around, the driver yelled, ‘f— you and your people,’ and accelerated toward me,” the student said. Upon locking eyes, he identified the individual as someone who has taken to filming pro-Palestine activists on campus, a newly widespread tactic employed to intimidate and dox students.

The suspect is described as a white male in his mid-20s, with short dirty-blond hair, round framed eyeglasses and a short beard. Per Stanford administration, the vehicle is “a black SUV with a tire mounted on the back.”

University police was alerted of the hit-and-run shortly after, but did not issue a campus-wide alert informing the student body of the violent crime until 10:30 p.m. According to a press release, Stanford administration only issued the “poorly thought out and careless statement” after public pressure from Muslim and Arab students, despite campus policy that mandates community notification within a two-hour window following violent incidents.

University’s ‘enabling’ silence

A statement from Stanford Students for Justice in Palestine demand that the university take immediate action. “The university must deploy its resources to determine who the perpetrator was, support the survivor of this attack (and others) with specialized resources, care, and any and all resources they need at their request, and release a statement condemning the violent Islamophobic and anti-Arab hate crimes in particular and with that language that have occurred on campus,” the students wrote. “At present, Stanford University is complicit in the white supremacist violence Arab and Muslim students have faced on campus. To the university administration, we say unequivocally: shame on you. Your silence is enabling violent Islamophobic and anti-Arab hate crimes on our campus and the genocide of the Palestinian people.”

“At present, Stanford University is complicit in the white supremacist violence Arab and Muslim students have faced on campus. To the university administration, we say unequivocally: shame on you. Your silence is enabling violent Islamophobic and anti-Arab hate crimes on our campus and the genocide of the Palestinian people.” Stanford Students for Justice in Palestine

The hate crime comes after mounting criticism of the university’s refusal to address an ongoing sit-in protest by student activists who demand the school denounce Israel’s invasion of Gaza, and provide additional support to Palestinian students. The students have been camping out in Stanford’s White Plaza since Oct. 20 and have no plans of stopping. Among the demands are for the university to offer counseling and academic accommodations for students impacted by the genocide in Palestine, along with access to free legal aid for those experiencing harassment.

According to the Department of Public Safety, “Stanford is continuing to work to provide a safe and secure campus environment in the context of heightened tensions related to the events in Israel and Gaza. This includes additional security that has been deployed at key locations on campus.”

The California Highway Patrol is currently investigating the hit-and-run as a hate crime. 

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact CHP at 650-779-2700 or Stanford public safety at 650-329-2413.