On Wednesday, Jan. 17, an MU student pled guilty to second degree property damage in Columbia Municipal Court for flipping a display Shabbat table with symbolic place settings for Israeli hostages in Speakers Circle in November 2023. 

MUPD arrested the student following a 911 call regarding vandalism at a Shabbat table display Speakers Circle around noon on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023.

The student did not respond to The Maneater’s request for comment. 

Student Ilay Kielmanowicz was volunteering on behalf of an informal student organization called Mizzou Students Supporting Israel, using tables provided by Chabad at Mizzou. Daniel Swindell, a Columbia community member, helped Kielmanowicz set up the event, who said he sometimes helps students set up “events related to Israel.” 

Kielmanowicz and Swindell had set up two tables — one of which was arranged like a Shabbat table to show support for Israeli hostages. The other had “books and pamphlets about Israel and Jews and Zionism and the Israeli Palestinian conflict, which students were able to take,” Kielmanowicz said. The Shabbat table included fliers with photos of Israeli hostages that read “KIDNAPPED” above them. 

Kielmanowicz said the student approached Swindell at the display, and that he later joined the conversation. The police report states that the student approached Swindell because he was wearing a garment that said “Zionist.” Swindell confirmed this detail, and Adam Kruse, Assistant City Prosecutor, cited it in court.

The student stated they found the display “insensitive and offensive,” according to Kielmanowicz. The two engaged in a conversation about display and the Israel-Hamas war until the student reportedly flipped over the volunteers’ Shabbat table, breaking the place settings consisting of Swindell’s dishes.

Swindell said he promptly called the police and that he “stayed with” the student until the police arrived, which he said included walking near the student center. According to the police report, Swindell followed the student into the basement of Strickland hall, and the MUPD officers found them on the north side of the building, where they questioned both individuals.

Swindell pressed charges for $30 worth of broken dishes. In court Kruse recommended a fine of $200.50. Cavanaugh Noce, the presiding municipal judge on the day of the student’s arraignment, changed the sentence to a year of probation, 20 hours of community service and a court fee of $31.50.

“[It] doesn’t mean you can’t speak your mind,” Noce said to the student in court. “You’ve gotta resolve conflicts in a productive manner.”

Students Supporting Israel, a “pro-Israel international campus movement that supports the State of Israel,” posted photos and videos of the upturned table on its Instagram page. On Nov. 30, the official MU Instagram account commented on the post, stating that the student was referred to the Office of Student Accountability and Support and that MU supports freedom of speech and does not “tolerate acts of vandalism or violence.” 

“The university is committed to ensuring everyone on our campus continues to have the right to demonstrate in a peaceful manner,” Christian Basi of the MU News Bureau wrote in a statement to The Maneater. “We will not tolerate actions that disrupt others[’] rights to demonstrate or exercise their free speech rights.”

Edited by Genevieve Smith | gsmith@themaneater.com

Edited by Scout Hudson | shudson@themaneater.com

Edited by Sophie Rentschler | srentschler@themaneater.com