Jewish groups decry two years probation for man who attacked Jewish students in Chicago

The two years of probation that Adam Erkan, 20, received for attacking two Jewish DePaul University students in Chicago is “regrettable” and a “profound failure,” Jewish groups in the city told JNS.

“When a convicted attacker walks away with probation and community service after admitting to a targeted assault, it signals that violence against Jews does not carry serious consequences in this city,” Daniel Schwartz, president and co-founder of the Chicago Jewish Alliance, told JNS.

“What happened inside the courtroom is a profound failure,” he said. “That message is dangerous, far beyond one campus.” (JNS sought comment from the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.)

“The guilty plea acknowledges what happened,” but “the sentence fails to match the gravity of the crime,” Schwartz said.