Two professors have been suspended by New York University, apparently within days of each other, after going viral online defending Hamas, including a psychology instructor who said he might “enjoy” captivity himself.
The adjunct professor, Tomasz Skiba, posted a clip of himself on Instagram saying most of Hamas’ Israeli hostages being held in Gaza “were okay” and that “some of them actually liked their time.”
The other, Amin Husain, was filmed denying verified reports that Hamas sexually assaulted women on Oct. 7. He quipped that being called antisemitic is an honor to be “won.”
“All members of our community must adhere to the University’s discrimination and anti-harassment policies,” university spokesman John Beckman said in a statement on both men’s suspensions Friday. “NYU investigates all complaints it receives and takes appropriate action, which may include taking measures such as suspension.”
Beckman announced Husain’s suspension on Jan. 25. Skiba said he was told Monday that his suspension related to an investigation into his social media posts.
Skiba, an adjunct professor of applied psychology, has set his social media account to private. But his video was shared online by StopAntisemitism, a viral account on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“From what I have seen from the hostages that were released by Hamas, most of them were okay,” Skiba said in the clip. “Some of them actually liked their time. One girl was able to keep her dog while she was staying there. So who knows? Maybe I would also enjoy it, and actually have good food and meet some people.”
The Israeli teen who kept her dog in captivity and her family have told several news outlets that the Shih Tzu was kept in a birdcage and fed the hostages’ leftovers.
Skiba prefaced his comments by saying he is “against any kind of killing of human beings and injustice.”
He’s been at NYU for more than three years and on Friday told the Daily News the video was “taken out of context.”
Skiba, who is originally from Poland, said he was compelled to speak out because of the country’s history of being taken over by other countries, such as Russia and Germany. He clarified that he is against taking hostages, and his own grandfather was held captive in Siberia.
“It’s very important to me that all people — Israeli, Palestinian, Polish — have the right to be free and have a peaceful life,” said Skiba, who added that a family member three generations ago was “100%” Ashkenazi Jewish.
He was supposed to teach two courses this semester on sexual identities and counseling, which he said were put on ice the Friday before classes were scheduled to begin that Monday. He’s also been receiving death threats and vulgar personal comments.
Skiba felt that it was important for him to weigh in on the conflict because of his training in trauma.
“I learned a lot about men that came from countries exposed to war,” he said. “Men have a hard time expressing their emotions” and opening up about what happened to them in childhood.
Husain’s remarks were made to a student group at a nearby campus, The New School, at the end of last semester. His talk went viral after conservative media outlet The Free Press shared the recording.
“‘Oh my God, you support rapists and people that behead babies,'” Hussain said of pro-Israel advocates’ allegations in the video. “Both of which, whatever, we know it’s not true.”
Husain also referenced a petition for his dismissal related to his pro-Palestinian activism, started by a NYU alumna in mid-October that has since garnered more than 6,600 signatories.
“I have a petition going around, right, because I’m ‘antisemitic,'” he said to the group of students. “I won the honors of antisemitic multiple times, by the way.”
A representative for Husain, the First Amendment defense organization Parachute Project, did not immediately return a request for comment.
Universities across New York have been grappling with how to respond to campus tensions after Hamas terrorists stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking hundreds of others hostage. More than 100 were released during a prisoner swap last year.
Israel’s brutal counteroffensive has killed more than 27,000 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
With News Wire Services
