An imam in upstate New York reportedly told supporters to “take out” Columbia University assistant professor Shai Davidai, who has led counter-demonstrators against pro-Palestinian protests, riots, and encampments.
The New York Post reported Saturday:
Vassar-educated, Utica-based imam Tom Facchine made the plea about business school professor Shai Davidai during an Aug. 20 webinar called “Islamic Political Activism” with various Columbia student groups which promoted and broadcast it.
“That Shai Davidai guy: How do we get him in trouble? How do we create a situation in which he’s in jeopardy?” Facchine, 35, asked. “If you’re able to take out somebody like that and make an example, that might shut up a hundred more.”
The Jersey-born Facchine left Christianity to become atheist, found Marx in college and converted to Islam in 2010.
Columbia has reportedly decided not to take further actions to protect Davidai.
As Breitbart News reported earlier this year, Davidai was barred from campus, ostensibly for his own safety, after administrators allowed a pro-Palestinian encampment to become entrenched. The encampment ultimately ended with activists violently occupying a university building before being removed by police — though many charges were later dropped.
Columbia president Minouche Shafik resigned last month, after her perceived mismanagement of the crisis, which threatens to resume this fall.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.