Jewish Federation CEO Meredith Dragon and others are advocating for restrictions on free speech, under the pretext that violence broke out at a pro-Palestinian protest in Twelve Corners Park on February 16, 2024. In a March 22, 2024 email to the Jewish Federation listserv, Dragon wrote: “One of the protests became violent, with an Israeli being severely injured, and another was broken up by the police because they felt the peaceful Jewish counter-protestors were in danger. Yes, this was in Brighton. No, these protestors are not doing the same thing at dismissal time in any other district.”
After reviewing videos provided pursuant to a FOIL request to the Brighton Police Department for body-worn camera (BWC) footage, it is clear that many of Dragon’s claims are simply not true.
The truth is that Israeli Assaf Ronen drove from Shortsville, NY, with his son Jacob, to counterprotest by throwing eggs at protesters and, later by stopping his pickup truck on Winton Road, in full daylight and active traffic, and leaving the vehicle to attack a protester. The BWC also shows that Mr. Ronen did not incur any significant injuries.
Mr. Ronen told the arresting officer that he is an employee of the Anti-Defamation League of New York, an affiliation that does not appear to have been reported anywhere else.
As far as violent predilections, it is Mr. Ronen, not any pro-Palestinian protester, who displays the most disturbing behaviors. While in custody, he delivered a screaming rant boasting about how Israeli had killed dozens of thousands of Palestinians (“you motherfuckers”), and puts numbers to what he believes to be proportional retribution (“for every Jew you kill, we gonna kill 1,000”).
Notable moments in the videos include the following:
- Police officers are shown admonishing Mr. Ronen for throwing objects at protesters (“you can’t be throwing shit at these people“);
- A police officer is gives a contemporaneous account of the “fight,” making it clear that Mr. Ronen had been the aggressor;
- The Police Chief asks if anyone needed medical service, and the answer is No.
- In case there was any question as to what Mr. Ronen and his son had been throwing out of their vehicle, two supporters of their cause had this exchange: “It was a little bit of snow that he threw.” Reply: “It was eggs.”
- Mr. Ronen betrays no evidence of severe injury during his ride to the jail in the Brighton Public Safety facility, regaling the officer behind the wheel with a rant likening the pro-Palestinian protesters to the 9/11 terrorists;
- Mr. Ronen proudly says he “knows he did something good.”
The complete set of videos may be found at this LinkTree.