A college professor who was previously fired following an armed confrontation with a reporter was also let go from her new teaching job in January, the New York Post reported.
Shellyne Rodriguez, who previously allegedly threatened a reporter with a machete, was fired from her new position as an adjunct professor at The Cooper Union in New York after making anti-Israel remarks, according to the outlet.
NYC professor Shellyne Rodriguez, who held machete to Post reporter’s neck, fired from Cooper Union over anti-Israel rants https://t.co/jUIfX1kce7
— Jeffrey Zimmerman (@Zimmlaw175) February 4, 2024
Rodriguez sent a Jan. 23 email to students after she was fired, which was shared on Instagram the next day by the Cooper Union Students for Justice in Palestine, according to the outlet. The ousted educator took to social media, blaming her firing on “public comments about ‘Zionists,'” the outlet reported.
“The role of artists in society is to hold up a mirror and SPEAK TRUTH,” Rodriguez wrote in the email. “This is fascism. Y’all are learning about it in real time.”
Rodriguez is no longer listed as an adjunct professor on the Cooper Union faculty page, according to the outlet. The specific comments that caused her firing have not been revealed.
Rodriguez was an outspoken anti-Israel activist, participating in a “CUNY for Palestine” panel in January. She encouraged others to protest landlords and business owners who are affiliated with Israel. (RELATED: ‘You’re Full Of Sh*t!’: Protester Berates Brian Mast After He Calls UN ‘Moronic’ For Creating UNRWA)
The former college professor frequently evoked antisemitic stereotypes, critics said, according to the outlet. She posted a pro-Israel event flyer which she edited with cockroaches on top, screenshots obtained by the outlet showed. She also referred to former Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz, who participated in the event, as a “dirty fucking roach,” according to the outlet.
Rodriguez was charged with menacing and harassing after she allegedly held a machete to New York Post reporter Reuven Fenton’s neck in May 2023. She was fired from Hunter College soon after the video of the encounter went viral.