“Israel bears full responsibility for this tremendous loss of life…I will not condemn Palestinian resistance.” These are the words of former NYU Law Student Bar Association President Ryna Workman, issued via the association’s email list to as many as 2,000 students. The loss of life Workman so callously attributes to Israel was caused by Hamas terrorists who killed approximately 1,300 people and took hundreds more captive; these are conservative estimates. The attack occurred on Simchat Torah (October 7th), a Jewish holiday during the festival known as Sukkot, and marked the deadliest attack on Israel since 1973.
Let me be clear: Workman is a symptom of a larger disease. Workman is one person; the more damning and horrifying aspect of NYU is that she felt comfortable enough to blast it publicly, openly endorsing heinous acts. What was the response of the student body? 41% of them either approved of or applauded her position and vitriol. Sickening.
Workman believes that Hamas are freedom fighters who should be commended and encouraged in their senseless acts of brutality. Fathi Hamad, a senior member of Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas, said “…Seven million Palestinians outside, enough warming up, you have Jews with you in every place. You should attack every Jew possible in all the world and kill them.” Hamas seeks the utter destruction and eradication of the Jewish people. That is crystal clear, and these are the people that Ryan Workman, who was placed in a position of authority and prestige by her peers, idolizes.
Ryna Workman is utterly reprehensible, but perhaps the most damning is the NYU student body. Thirty-six percent voted that Workman should remain in office despite her outrageous claims. The evening of Workman’s anti-Semitic email blast, a vote of no confidence was initiated by a student-led petition. Per student affairs, each student received a voting link tied to their netID. A voting link was sent to 2,070 law students, and 1,176 votes were recorded. Seven hundred and seven students (60%) voted that the SBA President, Ryna Workman, should not remain in office. Four hundred and twenty-eight students (36%) voted that she should remain in office, and 41 (3%) abstained. It is utterly terrifying that 40% of law students attending what was once a prestigious bastion of higher education could find nothing wrong with some blatant cruelty and openly side with kidnappers, rapists, and murderers. Four hundred and twenty-eight “highly educated” men and women openly endorsed it, and 41 could care less.
Workman went on to double down on her previous statements by appearing before ABC News and refusing to condemn the murder and kidnapping of civilians, and the use of sexual violence and the separation and torture of children. Workman has been removed from her office and had a job offer from Winston & Strawn revoked over the message, but that is not enough. Everyone that endorsed her via their votes should also face consequences. These men and women are not fit to serve in a court of law. Evil is alive and flourishing within the American higher education and judicial systems.