Man Who Plowed Car Into UES Pro-Palestine Protesters Arrested: Cops

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A man who drove his car into pro-Palestinian demonstrators on the Upper East Side Tuesday has been identified as a cousin of Rabbi Meir Kahane, the Brooklyn-born founder of the Jewish Defense League.

Reuven Kahane, 57, was arrested Tuesday morning near Park Ave. and E. 72nd St. after ramming his car into a 55-year-old following an altercation with a group of protesters outside the home of a Barnard College trustee, police said.

The picket was organized by Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), a coalition of student organizations that "see Palestine as the vanguard for our collective liberation," according to the group's Instagram page.

Members of the CUAD said that they recognized Kahane as a cousin of Rabbi Meir Kahane, and on Wednesday, various media outlets reported the same.

Rabbi Meir Kahane, the founder of the Jewish Defense League and the leader of a militant anti-Arab fringe movement in Israel, was assassinated in New York City in 1990.

His assassin, El Sayyid Nosair, was later convicted for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, according to FBI records.

Police arrested three individuals at the demonstration, including Kahane and the 55-year-old female protester he hit. Another 63-year-old male protester was arrested for criminal mischief, an NYPD spokesperson said.

Members of the CUAD asserted in a statement that Kahane had harassed protesters before hitting them with a car, recounting an incident where he grabbed a protester's arm after requesting a flyer. The group further claimed that Kahane received "calm and friendly treatment" from the NYPD, while the injured person was arrested and handcuffed to the hospital bed.

Kahane is facing charges of second-degree assault. He was arraigned Wednesday morning and released without bail, according to court files.

“There’s a lot to take in on this case, but we maintain our client’s innocence,” Kahane’s lawyer, Shulevitz, told the Daily News.