A Jewish Studies professor said his liberal arts college threw him under the bus after a student said supporters of Israel have a “free guaranteed place in hell.”
Stephen Berk, 83, is a professor of Holocaust and Jewish Studies at the Universityon College – a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York.
Berk was confronted by a junior in his class after the student, Ayah Osman, wrote in an Instagram post that anyone who attended a bingo night to raise money for Israeli victims of terror gets a “free guaranteed spot in hell.” .
The professor asked Osman if she stood by her hateful statement and she replied, “Yes, she did.”
Union College President David Harris later released a statement to address the heated discourse, which Berk said threw him under the bus.
A Jewish Studies professor said his liberal arts college threw him under the bus after a student said supporters of Israel have a “free guaranteed place in hell.”
Osman’s first message – which referenced a poster for a bingo fundraiser for Israeli terror victims – said: ‘They forgot to mention this on the poster, but don’t worry if you don’t win anything, because everyone who attend this event, you will receive a free guaranteed spot in hell’
Stephen Berk, 83, is a professor of Holocaust and Jewish Studies at Uni on College, a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. He was confronted by a junior in his class after the student, Ayah Osman, wrote in an Instagram post that anyone who attended a bingo night to raise money for Israeli victims of terror gets a “free guaranteed place in hell.” .
The statement read: “We do not condone the student’s words. We also will not tolerate the way this student was confronted in a public setting, nor how she has been portrayed in social or traditional media.”
Berk said Fox news that “there is a lot of hate on campus” — but said what really surprised him was the administration’s response.
The vice president for academic affairs was in the audience of the lecture hall where the fierce discourse took place: “She heard it, she didn’t do anything,” Berk said.
He said: ‘They actually compared me to a student. They said they didn’t approve of what the student said, and they didn’t approve of what I said when I reprimanded that and actually reprimanded the student. It was absolutely amazing.’
Despite saying that Union College is “one of the best liberal arts colleges in the United States,” Berk said that “something is wrong here” and that administrators have “taken their eye off the ball,” prompting many anti -Israeli sentiments made possible. at school.
The professor said he did not confront the student, and video footage of the “confrontation” shows Osman standing up and addressing Berk.
The video of the back-and-forth between Berk and Osman was posted to X, formerly known as Twitter. Osman began: “Professor, you called me a disgrace, but I think it is very important to note how irresponsible it was of you and this group of people, many of whom do not have access to what I said, to completely misrepresent what I said.
‘I never said that all Jewish people should go to hell. And I would never, ever say that.”
Berk responded, “I said what you said is that people who attended the meeting should burn in hell. Do you support that?’
“Yes,” Osman replied quickly.
Osman reposted the poster for a pro-Israel bingo fundraiser on her story, saying attendees had a “place in hell”
Union College President David Harris later released a statement to address the heated discourse, which Berk said threw him under the bus. The statement read: “We do not condone the student’s words. We also will not tolerate the way this student was confronted in a public setting, nor how she has been portrayed in social or traditional media.”
Berk told Fox host Brian Kilmeade: “I will stand up for what I think is right. Israel is right here
Osman’s first message – which referenced a poster for a bingo fundraiser for Israeli terror victims – said: ‘They forgot to mention this on the poster, but don’t worry if you don’t win anything, because everyone who attends this event, you will be guaranteed a free spot in hell.”
She accompanied her hate speech with a party face emoji.
The Union College junior has since faced strong backlash, including one petition which called for her expulsion from the university for “anti-Semitic behavior”, which gained 5,354 supporters before it was closed.
Berk told Fox host Brian Kilmeade: “I will stand up for what I think is right. Israel is right here.
Israel was attacked. Women and children were burned alive. Women were raped. Children were killed. People were burned alive. Israel is right here.”
“Don’t be afraid of bigotry, don’t be afraid. This is the United States of America and you need to stand up.”
‘If you say: burn in hell, do you know what that means for people who are Jewish and people who are sensitive to this? We are burned in hell.”