Students at Yale University are outraged after they say one of their teachers took to social media downplaying the Hamas attacks. There's now a petition calling for her resignation.
We spoke with the student who created that petition, which has already garnered over 30,000 signatures and counting.
"I felt that this was something that had to be done. We had to, you know, make draw line at some point," junior Netanel Crispe said.
Crispe is leading thousands in an effort to have Yale University Associate Professor Zareena Grewal ousted after a slew of shocking posts she reportedly made on social media following the attacks in Israel.
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While NBC Connecticut is unable to see Grewal's posts on her X account, Crispe said he copied them onto his petition.
One post reads, "My heart is in my throat. Prayers for Palestinians. Israel is a murderous, genocidal settler state and Palestinians have every right to resist through armed struggle, solidarity.”
But possibly the most egregious post, Crispe says, was a repost containing a news video detailing the Hamas attack, with the caption, "It's been an extraordinary day!"
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In the professor's bio, Grewal describes herself as a "radical Muslim." Her account has since been taken down.
According to the university’s site, she is a historical anthropologist and documentary filmmaker whose research focuses on race, gender, religion, nationalism and transnationalism across a wide spectrum of American Muslim communities.
NBC Connecticut has reached out to Grewal for comment but has not yet heard back.
"This is a stain on humanity, and something that we all have to speak up against," Crispe said.
In recent days, elected officials have condemned Hamas while urging universities to take a stronger stand.
"I think our universities [and] colleges need to take a stronger stand, I think our political leaders should be taking strong stands," Crispe said. "This war is not against the Palestinian people, it is a war against a terrorist organization."
Since the Oct. 7 attack, Hamas has killed hundreds of Israeli civilians and has taken over 100 hostage. Israel has since retaliated by launching air strikes on the Gaza strip.
"This isn't a tragedy just for the Jewish people or the people of Israel. This is a tragedy for humanity," Crispe said.
Yale issued the following statement about the incident:
"Yale is committed to freedom of expression, and the comments posted on Professor Grewal’s personal accounts represent her own views."
But Yale President Peter Salovey said in a statement that he..."calls on all of us to treat each other with compassion and understanding and to reject discrimination and intolerance in any form."