Teacher at School of the Art Institute of Chicago is slammed for calling Israelis ‘pigs, savages and irredeemable excrement’
A climate scientist who teaches at the School of the Art Institute has apologized for calling Israelis “pigs,” “savages” and “irredeemable excrement.”
Dr. Mika Tosca, who describes herself on social media as “Chicago’s radically optimistic transsexual climate scientist,” published a screed on her Instagram Story on Tuesday.
‘Israelis are pigs. Wanted,” she wrote. ‘Very bad people. Irrecoverable feces.”
She said Israel had produced “propaganda” that was “downright evil” after the October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas that killed 1,400 people.
“If after this past week your eyes are not open to the crimes against humanity that Israel has committed and has committed for decades, and will continue to commit, then I suggest you open them,” she added.
‘It’s disgusting and grotesque. May they all rot in hell.”
Dr. Mika Tosca posted an insulting, hate-filled rant against Israelis on Tuesday
The StopAntisemitism group condemned her words and warned the School of Art Institute (SAIC) about her comments.
“@saic_news, your Israeli and Jewish students deserve better than being taught by this hate-filled instructor,” the organization wrote on X.
Liora Rez, executive director of StopAntisemitism, told The New York Post in a statement: “As reports of anti-Semitism continue to pour in, we demand that administrators appoint Dr. Hold Mika Tosca fully accountable for her despicable bigotry.
“She needs to be investigated for her horrible feelings. Jewish students deserve to feel safe on campus and people like them make that impossible when they are unapologetically anti-Semitic.”
Rabbi Pini Dunner, senior spiritual leader at the Beverly Hills Synagogue in Los Angeles, sarcastically called Tosca “a paradigm of honesty and dignified academic sobriety….”
He added: ‘What a shame. @saic_news, what are you going to do about this fanatic in your midst?’
The school said in a statement to The New York Post that it was aware of the “hateful views” shared by Tosca on social media and that SAIC “rejects” them.
“These views do not reflect the school or the values we share as a community,” officials said.
Tosca joined the art institute after working as a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California
Tosca, who transitioned from male to female in 2016, was hired by SAIC in 2017 after working at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
She said she became convinced that artists could help scientists better communicate the severity of climate change to the public.
“I think artists, designers and other creatives have a very special and unique way of imagining, interpreting and analyzing our world in a way that scientists don’t always do,” she said at the time.
‘There’s not a lot of human involvement as part of the scientific process. I wanted to think about new ways, or perhaps more effective ways, to ultimately convince the general public of science, but also of the solutions to climate change.’
On Wednesday, Tosca, who lives in Chicago with her trans husband, apologized by writing a lengthy statement on X and Instagram.
‘Yesterday I wrote some things on my Instagram Story that I unequivocally reject and do not support.
“I am deeply sorry that I wrote what I wrote, and that I hurt many people with my words, and I am especially sorry to the Israeli people that I am largely responsible for the war.
“You didn’t deserve that, and you didn’t deserve that, and it was wrong to post what I posted: I know my words perpetuated harmful stereotypes.”
She said her “response to the violence in Israel and Palestine” took an “inappropriate and offensive form,” and said she was taking “proactive steps to learn how to do better and be better.”
She concluded, “I admit I made a mistake and promise to get better. I hope you can forgive me.’
Tosca apologized Wednesday for her outburst, begged for forgiveness and promised to learn from her mistake
Universities and campuses across the country have become hotbeds of anger after the October 7 attack.
Academics have swept in: a geneticist at Washington University in Missouri sparked outrage by claiming Israel was carrying out a “much-needed purge” in Gaza, while a law professor at Berkeley called on law firms not to hire “my anti-Semitic students.”
At Harvard University, the Palestine Solidarity Committee has been condemned for releasing a letter on October 7, co-signed by 33 other Harvard student organizations, stating: ‘We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime fully responsible for all the unfolding violence . ‘
Some of the signatories have been named and shamed, and billionaire financier Bill Ackman is demanding that companies refuse to hire them.
Harvard’s president has apologized for the statement, saying it does not represent the university’s views.
Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania are doing their utmost to limit the fallout: The schools could lose $487 million in funding, based on current and past donations from those now speaking out against the students for defending Hamas attacks .