Jewish student attacked near Pitt's campus recounts incident

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The Jewish student who was attacked in late September near Pitt's campus in Oakland while wearing a Star of David necklace shared his story for the first time, saying that he has no plans to hide his religious identity.

Brandon Bowman told KDKA-TV he was walking home late at night when a man walking with a group of about seven others made eye contact with him and his necklace.

"They identified me as a Jew, and then they said things about Israel [and] my religion," Bowman said.

They included defamatory insults, slurs about Jews, and other "vile" inflammatory language, he said. Bowman told KDKA-TV that he stood his ground during the antisemitic attack.

"I said, 'I do not tolerate what you're saying to me about my religion and my identity,'" Bowman said. "While standing my ground, they decided that it would be a good idea to punch me, attack me, kick me on my body because I was Jewish."

A nearby store owner intervened, and Bowman went home with a bruised lip.

The pain was intense, and the moment was life-changing.

"I have had Jew jokes made about me, you know, and people make subtle comments about my identity, but this is sort of, like, the first time I've been attacked for my identity, and that was a very tough time for me," Bowman said. "Not only was I physically hurt, but I was demoralized."

Despite what happened, he has no plans to take off his necklace.

"I wear my Star of David necklace because I want every Jew to be comfortable with their Star of David," Bowman said. "I have a brother who's a freshman at the University of Maryland. I want him to be proud of wearing a star."

The same, he says, goes for all other Jewish students at the University of Pittsburgh.

By sharing his story, Bowman said he hopes to raise awareness of something he said is taking place on college campuses nationwide.

Pittsburgh police, investigating the attack, have not shared if the attackers were Pitt students. The attack took place a few blocks from the university's campus.

Bowman is friends with the two Jewish students who were attacked in late August.

"I'm worried about prospective students," Bowman said.  "You know, they want to go to the Pitt, but they're worried about these attacks, and I tell them that we don't back down. You don't back down to people who want to intimidate Jewish students anywhere. We are here, we're proud, and we have a community on our backs."