DOJ Says Antisemitic Activist At Columbia Protests Had Direct Link To Hamas

Evidence has been presented that an antisemitic activist who protested against Israel on Columbia University’s campus had a direct link to Hamas.

Tarek Bazrouk, 20, a New York native who has been indicted for three federal hate crimes against Jews, was “a member of a chat group that received regular updates from Abu Obeida,” the official spokesperson for Hamas’ deadly al-Qassam Brigades, the New York Post said in an exclusive report.

Today's cover: Columbia protestor had direct link to Hamas’ deadly al-Qassam Brigades militant group: DOJ https://t.co/ePcL8QUrL1 pic.twitter.com/HHoCqYGixJ

— New York Post (@nypost) June 4, 2025

“As alleged, on three separate occasions, Tarek Bazrouk deliberately targeted and assaulted Jewish victims at protests relating to the Israel/Gaza war,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York stated. “Despite being arrested after each incident, Bazrouk allegedly remained undeterred and quickly returned to using violence to target Jews in New York City.”

The Department of Justice stated:

According to court documents, pursuant to judicially authorized warrants, law enforcement subsequently searched a cellphone used by Bazrouk. Evidence from that device revealed Bazrouk’s anti-Semitic bias and his support for anti-Jewish terrorist groups including Hamas, demonstrating his motivation for repeatedly assaulting Jewish victims. In text messages, for example, Bazrouk identified himself as a “Jew hater,” labeled Jews as “worthless,” extorted “Allah” to “get us rid of [Jews],” called an acquittance [sic] a “F***ing Jew,” and told a friend to “slap that b***h” in reference to a woman with an Israeli sticker on her laptop. Bazrouk also told a friend that he was “mad happy” to have learned that certain of his family members overseas are part of Hamas. 

“He also had a picture of Obeida and one of an individual waving a Hamas flag, and an al-Qassam Brigades meme, which reads: ‘By God I would not trade the Al Qassam Brigades for the world and everything in it. May God be pleased with them and allow them to break the wicked enemy through him,’” the Post noted, adding, “Prosecutors also claimed that Bazrouk had traveled to the West Bank and Jordan for approximately three weeks in September and October 2024, which also poses questions regarding what he was doing there.”

When Barzouk was arrested, federal agents discovered $750,000 in cash in a safe at his home. His attorney insisted the money was likely profit from his job at a smoke shop.