(DCNF)—Harvard law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz appeared on Newsmax Thursday to weigh in on what punishments could follow as two Syracuse University freshmen face hate crime charges after police said they hurled pork into a Jewish fraternity house during Rosh Hashanah.
Police charged two 18-year-old Syracuse University students with burglary as a hate crime and criminal nuisance after one allegedly threw a bag of pork into a Jewish fraternity house during Rosh Hashanah. In an appearance on “The Record with Greta Van Susteren,” Dershowitz said the students’ actions crossed university standards of decency more than criminal law, predicting they could face expulsion on campus.
“It seems to me that this is much more an expellable offense by the university because it violates all the standards of decency than it is a serious crime. But it is a crime and probably they’ll get a suspended sentence or a few weeks in jail just to demonstrate that people take this kind of thing seriously,” Dershowitz said.
Dershowitz said the case hinges on whether the prank rose to the level of criminal intent or remained an offensive act of expression.
“If they had done it outside the fraternity, it would be different. It would be hate, but it would be expressive speech and probably protected by the Constitution,” Dershowitz said. “But once one of them went into the House and the other one stayed outside knowing that he was going to help the first one escape, they both did commit technically the crime of burglary. Burglary is entering on the premises of another with an intent to commit a crime.”
Dershowitz questioned whether the incident should be treated as a misdemeanor prank or a hate-fueled crime.
“They will defend on the ground that it really is just a misdemeanor and not burglary. And the question really is, did they do it as a fraternity prank? Did they do it because they hate Jews? Obviously, if they had thrown a rope with a noose into a black fraternity or pork into a Muslim fraternity, everybody would be saying, ‘Oh, my God, this is terrible.’ And, you know, you have to really ask the question, how serious is it? Is this something that warrants expulsion? Is it something that warrants suspension? It certainly warrants a response by both the university, particularly the university.”
District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said that authorities view the case as a serious offense, adding that Zeta Beta Tau is a known Jewish fraternity, NBC affiliate WSTM reported.
“This incident is not a foolish college prank and will not be treated as such. It will be treated for what it is, a crime directed against a group of Jewish students enjoying a celebratory dinner and seemingly secure in their residence,” Fitzpatrick told WSTM.
Jewish hate crime has been prevalent in recent months. In June, federal officials arrested Mohamed Sabry Soliman for allegedly attacking a pro-Israel rally in Boulder, Colo., with a flamethrower and Molotov cocktails.
The Boulder attack occurred less than two weeks after a gunman killed Israeli embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. Police said the suspect, 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez, shouted “free Palestine” as officers took him into custody.
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