NEW YORK — More than 11,000 people have signed a letter to a judge in support of a US anti-Israel activist who is set to be sentenced later this month for antisemitic hate crimes.

In June, Tarek Bazrouk, 20, pleaded guilty in a federal court in New York to attacking the individuals because of their Jewish or Israeli identity. The victims of the attacks, which took place surrounding anti-Israel protests in 2024 and early 2025, were all wearing Jewish or Israeli symbols or were otherwise identifiable as such.

Bazrouk, who is Palestinian, has become a cause célèbre for anti-Israel activists across the US as leading groups, such as National Students for Justice in Palestine, urged their followers to sign a letter to the judge in his case.

The letter seeking a lenient sentence for Bazrouk was filed in a sentencing submission to the judge on Tuesday that included close to 250 pages of signatures. Bazrouk will be sentenced on October 28 in the federal New York Southern District court.

“Tarek Bazrouk is a beloved member of the New York City community,” the letter said. “We duly affirm that Tarek is not a danger to the community.”

The letter sought Bazrouk’s release from incarceration on time served, meaning he would be released after the hearing, saying Bazrouk has suffered from “deep personal trauma” and has been incarcerated for six months in “inhumane conditions.”

“Tarek, like many other young men in the criminal justice system, would be immeasurably harmed and further traumatized by a lengthy sentence in federal prison,” the letter said. “We believe that restorative justice will be achieved through Tarek’s personal growth and evolution as a man and valued community member, not through a prison sentence.”

Bazrouk, in a letter to the judge, said he was “against........

© The Times of Israel