By COLlive staff
A member of Chabad of the Bluegrass was injured Saturday night when a driver shouting antisemitic slurs dragged and ran over him outside the Jewish Student Center near the University of Kentucky, according to the center and police, Kentucky.com reported.
The incident happened at the Chabad public Menorah lighting for the third night of Chanukah. The driver pulled up and nearly hit a volunteer camera crew outside the center before dragging and injuring another member of the community, Chabad of the Bluegrass announced on its Facebook page.
“A community member who was assisting in the lighting heroically stepped between the assailant and the Chabad house as several children were in the front room,” Shliach Rabbi Shlomo Litvin said. “The attacker grabbed the man and held his arm, dragging him for a block, and running over his leg. The car then sped off … Before he left for the hospital, the newest hero of Chanukah insisted we light the Menorah, and not allow darkness to quench our light.”
The incident is still under investigation. The suspect was described as a man in his mid to late twenties driving a black SUV, Lexington Police Lt. Daniel Truex said Sunday.
The victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment Saturday night for injuries that were not life threatening, Truex said.
The victim was discharged from the hospital and was recovering at home as of Sunday, Rabbi Shlomo Litvin said. Litvin said he has been in regular contact with Lexington police and Lexington police Chief Lawrence Weathers as the investigation continues, and that investigators were continuing to search for a suspect, Kentucky.com reported.
Multiple state and local officials took to social media on Sunday to condemn the attack at the Jewish Student Center, including Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton.
“Racism and religious persecution have no place here,” Gorton said on Twitter Sunday. “Police have started an investigation into the criminal incident at Chabad of the Bluegrass on Saturday. Those who violated the law will be prosecuted. Let’s join in the spirit of Chanukah, a celebration of good over evil.”
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, decried the incident in tweets Sunday afternoon.
The anti-Semitic attack reported Saturday night outside of the Jewish Student Center is an outrage. This hate has absolutely no place in the commonwealth as we build a better Kentucky that is fair and equitable for all of our people. (1 of 2) https://t.co/0g2pfp6gHB
— Governor Andy Beshear (@GovAndyBeshear) December 13, 2020
Thank you @RepAndyBarr for standing with us today and for consistently standing with the Jewish community. Thanks for always being there. https://t.co/HYUsThunTx
— Rabbi S Litvin (@BluegrassRabbi) December 14, 2020
