Jeff Robbins
Creators, Sept. 27, 2022
“Instead of acknowledging “Burlington, we’ve got a problem,” UVM’s president responded with a statement at once inane and threatening, warning darkly that the investigation would hurt Jewish students.”
The facts at the core of the current antisemitism scandal at the University of Vermont don’t seem especially disputable, and the University hasn’t really disputed them. A University teaching assistant, feeling perhaps correctly that the University offered a safe space for antisemites, wasn’t content to merely bully Jewish students who identified with Israel. She boasted about it publicly, chortling on social media about her threats to reduce the grades of Jewish kids for whom Israel has personal meaning.
“Is it unethical for me, a TA, to not give Zionists credit for participation???” she tweeted. “I’m trying to be lowkey on social media for Ramadan and it’s going okay so far but (name redacted) keeps sending me Instagram posts from UVM Zionist Instagram accounts and I get the indelible urge to cyberbully and religion goes out the window.” And “serotonin rush of bullying Zionists on the public domain.”
When an Israeli flag was stolen from an off-campus student house, the TA heartily praised the vandalism. “Who stole the Israeli flag,” she tweeted, “I just wanna talk and tell you how cool and special and loved you are… may the wind always be at your back.” And later “at this stage in the game I don’t even want to know who stole it anymore I just want to defend their honor. They are like the spider-man of Burlington, anonymously doing good.” … SOURCE
