NYU Suspends Several Anti-Israel Professors

By Matis Glenn

New York University has suspended, but continues to pay, a significant number of adjunct professors over anti-Israel comments and support of the Hamas terror group, according to a source familiar with the administration of the university, as investigations into rising antisemitism at colleges nationwide continue to ramp up.

One professor, Tomasz Skiba, an adjunct professor of Applied Psychology, was suspended with pay recently following complaints from students and Jewish groups over a video posted to social media by the Polish-American teacher, in which he claimed that some of the hostages taken to Gaza by Hamas terrorists on October 7 “actually liked their time.” He continued to say that if he had been taken hostage, “who knows, maybe I would enjoy it, eat some good food, and meet some people.”

Skiba is also a practicing psychologist.

Amin Husain, a Palestinian-American adjunct at NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study, was suspended Thursday after a video of him downplaying the atrocities of Hamas on October 7 went viral online, in which he denied several heinous crimes that terrorists committed during the attacks. Around 1,200 Jewish people were killed during the attacks by terrorists who recorded every detail of their brutality.

The video, released by The Free Press, was from a speech Husain gave at The New School, where he was invited to speak by members of the Students for Justice in Palestine organization.

SJP is a national organization that denies the United States’ and Israel’s right to exist, and has been banned in Florida state-run schools due to its identifying itself as part of the “movement” started by Hamas.

Husain, 48, not only applauded Hamas’ attacks, calling them a “liberation struggle,” but said that he himself took part in the first Palestinian Intifada, throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at Israelis,

Husain’s profile on NYU’s website has been removed as of the writing of this article, though it is indexed by Google.

NYU spokesperson John Beckman acknowledged suspension, but did not say when the decision was made, or if he is still being paid. 

“To be clear, Mr. Husain has been suspended and is not currently teaching any classes at NYU,” Beckman said in a statement. “All members of our community must adhere to the University’s discrimination and anti-harassment policies; We investigate all complaints we receive and take appropriate action, which may include taking measures, such as suspension.”

According to the antisemitism watchdog group The Canary Mission, Husain has a long history of supporting terrorists, engaging in violent protests, calling for an end to Israel and the United States, and encouraging violence against NYPD officers.

“While NYU has suspended Husain, comprehensive action must be taken. Antisemitism at NYU is growing, with extreme ideologies taking hold of students,” The Canary Mission said in a statement to Hamodia. “Confidence in academic institutions is at an all-time low. As a first measure to restore confidence in NYU’s leadership, we call on them to take the only moral option available – fire Husain and show the world that NYU stands firmly against antisemitism and hateful bigotry.”

Jewish teachers and students are reportedly afraid to voice their views or bring reports of antisemitism for fear of reprisals, though incidents have become very commonplace since October 7. “It’s pretty scary to walk around,” one student told Hamodia in November, “I’m always looking over my shoulder to see who’s around,” he said.

“One student approached a professor to request an extension for her assignments, because she is unable to eat or sleep and doesn’t feel safe at school. There was only one professor she felt comfortable asking for such a thing; she was scared to approach any of the others,” a source in the faculty told Hamodia.

“Another student, a freshman from overseas, said there’s more antisemitism going on than the administration is made aware of….she said before the October 7 terror attacks, she was given an assignment, the premise of which was to describe how — not if — Israel is a colonial state. That’s the topic. She was crying and said she didn’t know what to do,” the source continued.

In his speech at The New School, Husain said that The Canary Mission’s report on him “is one of the best biographies I have.”

“It’s endless. The citations are better than I could ever imagine,” he said jokingly, which elicited laughs from his audience.

“And everything they cite is true.”

Asked by Hamodia why only adjuncts have been suspended in NYU, and not full-time professors – including the over 260 members of Faculty for Justice in Palestine – the source familiar with the administration said that the latter are more difficult to suspend or dismiss, especially if they have tenure.

In November, NYU appointed Eve Tuck, professor who called Hamas’ terror attacks “affirming” and “resistance” to head a new center for indigenous studies. 

Rabbi Yehudah Sarna, head of the Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life and Chief Rabbi of the Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue of the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, released a letter in November explaining the situation. “If you are reading this message and were previously unsure whether or not students were experiencing antisemitism, take it from me: THEY ARE.“

Rabbi Sarna said even Jewish students who are sympathetic to Palestinians have found themselves “confronted by straightforward antisemitic slurs, including ‘Hitler should have finished the job.’”

At one demonstration, protestors – holding signs accusing Israel of genocide – chanted “We don’t want no Jew state, we want all of it.”

During a November student “walkout,” a poster calling for the release of the hostages taken prisoner by Hamas was vandalized with the words “They will not return home alive.” The same day, protestors carried pictures of a Star of David in a trash bin, calling to “keep the world clean,” likely a reference to the antisemitic trope of “dirty Jews.”

Additionally on the day of the walkout, a person riding on a bike reportedly threw hot coffee on a Jewish student who was putting on tefillin.

NYU, along with dozens of other U.S. universities – including Ivy League schools such as Harvard, Cornell and Columbia – is under federal investigation for possible civil rights violations in its response to antisemitism on campus.