SU Student Hides Jewish Last Name for Personal SafetyStudent Changes Last Name In Wake Of Israel-Hamas War
By
Ronald Parrillo
NICK GLASSMAN: “I don’t know, it was the first time that I’d ever like, changed or hid an aspect of myself before.”
RONNIE PARRILLO: For over 20 years, Nick Glassman has been proud of his last name. He comes from a family who, for generations, has embraced its Jewish heritage. But recently, he decided, it was time for a change… a big change.
GLASSMAN: “I made the decision to go into my Uber and change my last name from Glassman to my middle name which is Battano, which is Italian, which is Catholic as well.”
PARRILLO: Glassman, a student at Syracuse University, says he decided to change his last name in his rideshare profile, and in much of of his online identity , for his own safety, after hearing far too many headlines like these…
(NEWS CLIPS)
GLASSMAN: “I definitely like after I did it, I kind of sat there for a moment. I was like, wow, like, I really just like, hid my last name. It’s scary when geopolitical conflicts lead to hate and prejudice. And like, I just didn’t want to run that risk.”
PARRILLO: According to the Anti-Defamation League, anti-Semitic incidents have skyrocketed across the U-S since Hamas launched its attack on Israel last Fall. . Numbers show a nearly 400% increase nationwide from October to December, compared to the same period the year before.. Over 70 percent of these hateful acts are directly tied to the war.
GLASSMAN: “I was just like, scary whenever that stuff happens, because like, we’re not in the majority group. So, like, you never know.”
PARRILLO: Glassman says he’ll continue to hide his Jewish identity, as long as it takes, until he feels it’s safe enough to once again publicly embrace… the religion and culture his family has for so long, been so proud of. Ronnie Parrillo, N-C-C News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — For over 20 years, Nick Glassman has been proud of his last name. He comes from a family who, for generations, has been proud of its Jewish heritage. But recently, he decided it was time for a change, and not a small one.
“I made the decision to go into my Uber and change my last name from Glassman to my middle name which is Battano, which is Italian, which is Catholic as well,” Glassman said.
Glassman is a student at Syracuse University and said he decided to change his last name in his rideshare profile, and in some of his online accounts for his own safety after hearing about anti-Semitic incidents not just in Central New York and on campus, but globally.
“I definitely, like after I did it, I kind of sat there for a moment. I was like, wow, like, I really just like, hid my last name,” Glassman said.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, anti-Semitic incidents have skyrocketed across the United States since Hamas launched its attack on Israel last fall. Numbers show a nearly 400% increase nationwide from October to December, compared to the same period the year before.. Over 70% of these hateful acts are directly tied to the war.
“It’s scary when geopolitical conflicts lead to hate and prejudice. And like, I just didn’t want to run that risk,” Glassman said.
Glassman said he’ll continue to hide this part of his Jewish identity for as long as it takes, until he feels it’s safe enough to once again publicly embrace the religion his family has for so long, been proud of.
