An investigation into an alleged antisemitic attack on a Jewish fraternity at the University of California, Berkeley has revealed that the incident that has raised the anxiety level of Jewish students on campus and Jews throughout the country was a prank that veered out of control.
Ynet has learned that a first-year student confessed to the police that it was a prank that got out of control and not an antisemitic incident, as had been suspected. According to students at the Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) fraternity house, the student “did it as a joke. He is known to the fraternity members and they withdrew the complaint. The student is now overwhelmed by the escalation it received, and due to the media coverage and police involvement, it’s difficult to undo the situation.”
The university’s spokesperson confirmed to Ynet that it was indeed a student who threw the seafood in a number of student fraternity houses without knowing the religious significance of the act.
The Berkeley Police Department said that they do not officially comment on ongoing investigations.
The incident has sparked significant outrage within the American media and the Jewish community, which is presently on heightened alert due to the escalating number of anti-Semitic incidents across the country. The student’s friends say he is distressed by the prank that got out of hand. “He’s just a young man who found himself in a predicament. He couldn’t have foreseen the rapid escalation of the situation,” one says.
This case brings attention to the swiftness with which the Jewish community raises the alarm, which can be seen as crying wolf, while also prompting inquiries about the accuracy of categorizing numerous acts as “anti-Semitic” hate crimes within the country.
A spokesperson for the international Alpha Epsilon Phi organization said in response to Ynet’s inquiry that “I do not believe this. If in fact, it was ‘just a prank,’ it crossed a line and raised safety concerns for Jewish students who felt harassed.”
