May 9, 2025 | 11 Iyar 5785
Candlelighting 8:06 p.m. | Havdalah 9:11 p.m. | Vol. 68, No. 19 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
CMU Hamas sympathizer Hamad denied bail; allegedly attended architecture students design Valley View Presbyterian Church 10 times since arrest with vision for legally blind artist
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Chabad of Squirrel Hill was vandalized with anti-Israel graffiti in July 2024. By David Rullo | Senior Staff Writer
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F
ollowing a two-day detention hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia Dodge ordered Mohamad Hamad held without bail pending trial, saying no conditions existed in which the safety of the community could be reasonably assured if he were released. Hamad was arrested in October, along with Talya Lubit, in connection with antisemitic vandalism that was spray painted at both Chabad of Squirrel Hill and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. At the time of his arrest, Hamad, who is a dual citizen of the United States and Lebanon, was granted home release. In March, Hamad filed a motion to modify the conditions of his release, asking the court to lift the home detention requirement and instead impose a curfew along with the continuance of electronic monitoring. That request was denied. In late April, the federal government announced a superseding indictment returned by a grand jury charging Hamad, Lubit and Micaiah Collins with conspiracy, defacing and damaging religious property, making false statements and possession of destructive devices. Several new pieces of information were revealed during the detention hearing, including that the FBI was concerned Hamad, a member of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard who was seeking top secret
clearance, might target a military training exercise with explosives. Hamad, the government contended, joined the National Guard to learn combat skills hoping to utilize them as a Hamas operative. The defendant, government attorneys alleged, called himself a terrorist and stole Israeli flags from community members. Hamad also allegedly said bullets should “touch the forehead of Zionists” and that he wanted to die a martyr. FBI Special Agent Gregory Battaglia told the court Hamad had threatened his own family members, including his parents, and that pro-Hamas videos were found on his social media accounts and in messages to friends. An open question at the hearing was whether Hamad has a Lebanese passport. The FBI was unable to find one, but Hamad previously testified that one existed. He later recanted that testimony, saying he was confused and that his father handled the family’s passports. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Vasquez Schmitt said Hamad lied during his background check for the military, claiming allegiance to the United States while stating on social media he was loyal to Lebanon and Palestine. He also bragged about his ability to evade law enforcement, she said. During the hearing, prosecutors said Hamad
Painter Benjamin Schwartz, aka Benny Blindspots, stands inside Carnegie Mellon University's Great Hall on April 28.
Photo by Adam Reinherz
By Adam Reinherz | Senior Staff Writer
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hypothetical project fostered practical results. Throughout the semester, Carnegie Mellon University students in Andrew Stone’s second-year studio course explored architecture through human experience. The monthslong undertaking involved designing a space for Jewish artist Benjamin Schwartz, a Squirrel Hill-based painter who goes by “Benny Blindspots” due to his legal blindness. Blending reality and fantasy, students were told that Schwartz’s potential studio would be located in a vacant Bloomfield lot. Because the site actually exists, students were required to “work within real constraints,” Stone said. And, by repeatedly meeting with Schwartz “as if he were a real client,” students discovered how collaborative processes tailor to users’ needs. During the semester, CMU student David Tang was tasked with not only creating digital sketches and carving prototypes, but visiting Schwartz’s Squirrel Hill studio, exploring its subterranean space and speaking with the artist.
Please see Hamad, page 15
Please see Architecture, page 15
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Photo courtesy of United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania