NYU Condemns Ex-Student’s ‘Shameful’ and ‘Callous’ Tweet Mocking First Israeli Coronavirus Death
New York University (NYU) took an unusual step this week, condemning a former student for a mocking tweet about the first Israeli coronavirus fatality.
Upon learning of the death of Aryeh Even, an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor who lived in Jerusalem, last Friday, Leen Dweik — ex-president of NYU’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter — tweeted, “Anyway should I paint my nails red or green today?”
On Tuesday, NYU spokesman John Beckman issued a statement, saying, “With almost 500,000 alumni, NYU does not routinely respond to its graduates’ social media posts, but the reported Twitter post by a former NYU student about the first Israeli death from COVID-19 was shameful and callous.”
“The death and disruption caused by this pandemic should be reason to draw us together in sympathy, not be fodder for divisiveness and indifference,” he added. “NYU denounces such insensitivity; it is at odds with our campus’ values.”
Read More: Algemeiner