Rabbi Elchanan Poupko, an Orthodox rabbi in New Haven, says he was harassed and assaulted by a mob affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) during a pro-Palestinian protest near Yale University on Friday. The incident, he warns, highlights a troubling rise in political intimidation and antisemitism on American streets.
According to a letter sent by Rabbi Poupko to DSA elected officials, the confrontation occurred on September 26 during a demonstration organized by Yale Students for Palestine (Yalies for Palestine). The rabbi, wearing visible Orthodox Jewish attire, says a group of protesters identified themselves as DSA members—one wearing a DSA shirt—and proceeded to surround him, verbally assault him with slurs, and stalk him to his car. “They hounded me like the Brownshirts in 1930s Germany,” Rabbi Poupko said in a letter addressed to DSA-elected officials in Connecticut. “They proudly declared their affiliation with the DSA as they engaged in this reprehensible behavior.”
Poupko says that some of the individuals involved in the harassment have reportedly worked for or campaigned on behalf of DSA-affiliated elected officials in Connecticut.
The rabbi’s letter comes against a backdrop of rising political violence nationwide. He cited the recent murders of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, Minnesota Democratic State Representative Melissa Hortman, and her husband as part of a disturbing trend in which political disagreement increasingly escalates into violence.
In his message to Connecticut’s DSA officials, Rabbi Poupko urged them to denounce the actions of their supporters publicly. “If DSA elected officials choose to remain silent, history will record that silence as tacit consent to political intimidation, harassment, and antisemitism,” he warned.
The Democratic Socialists of America have not yet responded.
This incident adds to growing concerns about the boundaries between political activism, harassment, and hate. Updates to follow
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