“That is fascism,” she wrote. “Y’all are studying about it in real-time.”
A New York Metropolis professor who was caught on digicam holding a machete to a reporter’s neck has been fired for anti-Israel rants. The 47-year-old Shellyne Rodriguez in an e mail wrote, “Cooper Union has fired me due to a social media submit I made about ‘Zionists'”.
Her January 23 e mail was shared the subsequent day on Instagram by the Cooper Union College students for Justice in Palestine.
“That is fascism,” she wrote. “Y’all are studying about it in real-time.”
In her Instagram submit, Rodriguez stated she was fired over “public feedback about ‘Zionists.'”
A spokeswoman for the school instructed the New York Post that it doesn’t touch upon personnel issues however Rodriguez is not listed as an adjunct on Cooper Union’s school web page.
Nonetheless, it’s unclear which posts or feedback led to her being fired.
Notably, Rodriguez took half in a CUNY for Palestine panel the place critics claimed she made antisemitic remarks. She additionally posted a flyer on Instagram, selling a pro-Israel occasion – edited to make it seem like it was lined with cockroaches.
Former Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr was one of many occasion’s contributors. “Take a look at this soiled f-ing roach former Bronx borough president Ruben Diaz Jr. a Zionist lapdog,” Rodriguez wrote within the caption.
The professional-Palestinian scholar group condemned the professor’s firing as “an intense escalation of repression” that “should be resisted.” “The Cooper Union wrongfully terminated a valued educator who’s indispensable to the neighborhood and the educational livelihood of scholars,” the group wrote in a letter to the administration,” based on the New York Submit.
Nonetheless, a bit of individuals had been joyful about her termination information and stated it was much-needed.
“Jewish college students at Cooper Union are very relieved that they fired her,” stated Jeffrey Lax, a CUNY legislation professor and co-founder of College students and School for Equality at CUNY. “Her feedback had been despicable.”
“Usually, I might say I commend the college for taking motion in opposition to this professor however on this case, how can I presumably say that? She did one thing far worse earlier than they employed her. I imply, she held a knife to a reporter’s neck,” Lax stated. “They’re to not be counseled, they need to be ashamed of themselves.”
In Could final 12 months, Rodriguez, who was then serving as an adjunct professor at Hunter School, was recorded utilizing profanity whereas expressing displeasure at college students who had organized a pro-life desk. He asserted that their actions had been inflicting misery to others, stating, “You are not educating something. That is propaganda. What’s subsequent, anti-trans initiatives?” The video capturing the incident was shared on-line by College students for Lifetime of America.
When a New York Submit reporter arrived at her residence for feedback, she was seen holding a blade to the reporter’s neck.
She pleaded responsible to harassment and menacing in connection to the assault on the reporter, the Submit reported, citing the Bronx District Legal professional’s Workplace.
Rodriguez was sentenced in October to 13 months of behavioural remedy for menacing.
