Summer Lee (Mark Dixon/Wikimedia Commons)
Rep. Summer Lee (D., Pa.), a member of the anti-Israel "Squad," published a letter last year touting support from "members of the Pittsburgh Jewish Community." One of those "members," Talya Lubit, is now charged with vandalizing a synagogue and Jewish community center located in Lee's congressional district.
Federal prosecutors announced charges on Wednesday against Lubit, a Pittsburgh native, and Mohamad Hamad, a U.S. and Lebanese citizen, for vandalizing Chabad of Squirrel Hill and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh on July 29.
Lubit and Hamad allegedly painted "Jews 4 Palestine" and an inverted triangle, a symbol affiliated with Hamas, on the Chabad of Squirrel Hill. They painted "Hate Zionists" on a sign outside the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. They are charged with damaging religious property and conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, charges that carry a penalty of up to two years in prison.
The indictment could bring renewed scrutiny to Lee, whose district encompasses both of the targeted groups—and who has ties to one of the apparent vandals, Lubit.
In November, Lee touted a letter released by Lubit and other Pittsburgh activists that called on the Biden-Harris administration to push for an Israeli ceasefire in Gaza. Lee published the letter on her website and noted that the activists had thanked her for "her leadership in this moment of immense pain and fear." Lubit is listed on Lee’s congressional website as one of the signatories of the letter.
While Lee describes Lubit in the letter as a Pittsburgh-area activist, Lubit hails from New York City, according to her verified profile on the website CouchSurfing, a travel service in which users can offer to open up their homes to strangers. Lubit describes herself on her profile as an "agnostic Jew" who goes to school in "Pennsylvania for International Relations and Arabic," loves "animals, peace, nature, culture, and traveling," and is vegan "in NYC" but "will have milk and eggs" while traveling "if necessary."
Until recently, Lubit attended Dickinson College, a liberal arts school in central Pennsylvania that costs $86,000 to attend. She protested a Joe Biden rally held in Pittsburgh in April over the president's handling of Israel's war on Hamas, according to a Pittsburgh Tribune article at the time, which identified Lubit as a recent Dickinson College graduate.
"Everything in my bones is telling me to stand up for people. We’ve been begging and pleading for a cease-fire for six months now," said Lubit. The paper described her as living in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood. Lubit is identified as a resident of the same neighborhood in her indictment. She graduated from Dickinson in May 2023 with a degree in Middle East Studies and was a member of the "Animal Activism Club."
Lee has been one of Congress’s most vocal critics of Israel. She accused the Jewish state of waging genocide in Gaza and has called for a ceasefire without preconditions that Hamas release hostages taken during its invasion of Israel on Oct. 7.
She has faced scrutiny from Jewish groups for accepting campaign contributions from Council on American-Islamic Relations director Nihad Awad, who last year said he was "happy to see" Hamas attack Israel. Lee planned to speak at a fundraiser for CAIR but backed out amid pressure from Jewish leaders.
Lee was also criticized for her reaction to the Chabad of Squirrel Hill and Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh vandalism, which made national news over the summer. In a July 29 tweet, Lee said that "what took place at the Chabad in Squirrel Hill this morning" was "wrong." She ignored the vandalism at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and did not use the term "anti-Semitic."
Lubit's alleged co-conspirator, Hamad, also has an apparent affinity for members of the Squad. He contributed to the campaigns of Reps. Ilhan Omar (Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), according to campaign finance records. He gave $10 to Omar in Nov. 2023 and $5 to Tlaib in April 2024.
Hamad, according to prosecutors, described himself as a "Hamas operative" and discussed plans with another associate to purchase explosives for a potential attack, according to prosecutors.
Lee’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment. Lubit did not respond to a request for comment. Hamad could not be reached for comment.
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