CJC "Absolutely Horrified" by anti-Semitic Machete Attack

An Israeli engineering student attending Carleton University and the vice president of the university’s students’ association say they are fortunate to have survived an attack not far from a Gatineau bar early Monday morning by men wielding a machete who targeted the students for their pro-Israel views, shouting anti-Semitic slurs.

Israeli student Mark Klibanov,20, and his roommate Nick Bergamini, 22, are calling the attack a hate crime.

Jordan Kerbel, National Director of Public Affairs for Canadian Jewish Congress, said, “Canadian Jewish Congress is absolutely horrified to hear about this attack.”

He added that CJC’s foremost concern is the safety of the students. “We are extremely relieved that they are ok, that they didn’t come to any physical harm.”

Gatineau police are currently investigating the incident and are not commenting on specific details of the case. However, a description of the attack was posted on Facebook by Klibanov and Bergamini. Both students are known around campus for his support for Israel and are closely involved in Jewish and Israel campus groups.

“We absolutely are urging and will work with the authorities in Ottawa and have been in contact with the authorities in Ottawa,” Kerbel said. “We are positive that the authorities will launch a full and complete investigation. And we know that the perpetrators of this attack will come to justice.”

On Monday morning, Bergamini and Klibanov were exiting Le Volt bar on Promenade du Portage at 1:45 a.m when a group of 10 men accosted them, shouting in English and Arabic that the two students were Zionists and Jews.

Bergamini recognized one of the men as a Carleton student. He told the angry mob that he loves Israel and supports its right to exist. He further told them that it would be a bad idea to attack him or Klibanov as he knew who they were.

"We heard shouts, 'It's Zionists! We see Zionists!' And we responded, 'Yeah, you know. We love Israel. Go Israel!' And then we were surrounded by about 10 to 15 guys, shouting, yelling all around us," Bergamini told CBC News.

At that point, one of the men hit him forcefully on the back of the head.

Bergamini and Klibanov managed to break through the crowd and sought safety with bar security staff. Ten minutes later, when they were certain that the men were no longer loitering outside the bar, they decided to head home via the Chaudière Bridge back to Ottawa. As they were walking through a parking lot close to the bridge, a car with three men in it pulled over.

"One of them rolled down the window and said, ‘I am the one who hit you, you f***ing Jew,' although I am not a Jew," Bergamini told Canwest News Service."Two guys came out of the car and one of them tried to kick my roommate. One attacker said ‘Open the trunk,' and another guy pulled out a machete that glinted in the street lights. I yelled that they had weapons and we started running as fast as we could. I saw the guy wind up with the machete as I looked back."

In an interview with canoe, Bermagini said that the 12-inch machete was held by a man who yelled “f**king Jews” and then swung the blade at him from close enough to cause serious physical harm.

“I saw the long shiny blade slicing through the air about 12 inches from my neck,” he said.

Klibanov told Canwest that the machete barely missed the back of Bergamini’s head as the two raced across the bridge towards Ottawa. He surmised that they only avoided injury by outrunning their attackers.

Steve Blais, a Carleton media relations officer, told Shalom Life that the university is reaching out to students as well as the Gatineau police in order to help their investigation in any way they can.

Blais would not elaborate on what measures the university might take if any of the attackers turn out to be Carleton students.

“We need to let the police investigation establish the facts and allow the justice system to do its job before we can mete out penalties or sanctions,” he said. “Needless to say violence is not something we will tolerate on our campus.”

He considers the attack an isolated incident, stating that faculty and students have not noticed any recent increase in tensions on campus. “If any individuals feel threatened or concerned in any way they can raise their concern with university safety and it will be addressed immediately.”

Carleton has invested over $2 million in enhancements to campus safety over the past two years, he added.

“Our campus is monitored by video, we have regular safety patrols on campus and in residences,” he said. “The Department of University Safety has a visible presence on campus and we believe that it is a safe place. We have not had an incident of violence related to this issue on our campus.”