The Harvard Law Review editor who was caught on video participating in a pro-Palestinian mob that surrounded and shouted at a Jewish student was also reportedly involved in a bizarre 2017 car crash at Stanford University that left several students injured, The Post has learned.
The 27-year-old Ibrahim Bharmal — among those seen circling and yelling “Shame! Shame!’ at the unidentified Jewish student in a campus incident last month that has drawn outrage from alumni including from hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman — was reportedly in a mysterious late-night accident involving a U-Haul truck at Stanford that resulted in five people being injured.
On May 23, 2017, Bharmal, who at the time was a senior at the posh, Palo Alto-based university, was riding in the cab of a U-Haul truck with three other class presidents — and carrying between 14 and 18 Stanford “class cabinet members” in the rear box of the van, according to the campus newspaper Stanford Daily.
According to a redacted report by the California Highway Patrol, the vehicle collided with the overhang at the entrance to Wilbur Field Garage near the school’s campus. The CHP report noted that the U-Haul was a Ford that was attached to a “rear box area …[containing] no seats, seat belts or any type of passenger restraint systems.”
California law requires proper restraint and seating mechanisms in the back of a U-Haul if the rear box is used to transport people.
News of the crash was circulated on campus by an online newsletter, The Fountain Hopper, which cited “tipsters” as alleging that the crash resulted in “at least five injuries, including a broken nose and at least one concussion.”
One tipster told the newsletter that several of those involved in the crash were “bleeding” — including one who was “bleeding from the head.”
Another victim was “semi out of it” while a third was “really out of it,” the tipster told The Fountain Hopper.
The other three class presidents were identified by Stanford Daily as Rachel Morrow, Madilyn Ontiveros, and Jack Seaton — all of whom graduated from the university in 2018.
The group had rented the U-Haul for an event at Lake Lagunita, a man-made lake on the Stanford campus, to commemorate the start of their term.
The CHP’s redacted report indicated that the driver of the vehicle, who was not identified, was sober and that weather and road conditions were normal.
According to the report, there were 18 people in the rear box in addition to the four class presidents in the cab of the Ford — though one of the class presidents denied this to Stanford Daily, saying there were 14.
A CHP spokesperson referred The Post to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office for comment. The Post has also sought comment from all four class presidents as well as Stanford.
The class presidents jointly told Stanford Daily that reports that some of the cabinet members “fled the scene” when officers arrived to investigate were not true. The presidents also denied that cabinet members were intoxicated.
“There was no expectation or notion of drinking at the event,” the presidents claimed in their statement to Stanford Daily. “It was common knowledge within our senior cabinet that [drinking] would not be appropriate.”
Campus observers were curious as to why none of the class presidents involved in the incident were disciplined by administrators.
A person familiar with the situation told The Post that Stanford “brushed it under the rug” and “it went completely unpunished.”
Bharmal “had a very good relationship with Stanford admins and the alumni association,” according to the source, who noted that he later received an award from the group for “outstanding service” to the school.
According to Stanford, Bharmal earned a bachelor’s degree in comparative literature and international relations.
He was recognized for his “leadership” and for “bring[ing] his whole self to his life and work whether in the classroom, community service or leading his class.”
“Serving as a class leader, he worked tirelessly to create a strong sense of affinity for his graduating class,” according to a nominator who recommended him for the 2018 award.
“As a young scholar and supporter of social justice, Ibrahim also has a strong interest in Muslim affairs and refugee studies.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
