News/Commentary

UC Davis condemns assistant professor who threateningly posted about ‘easy access’ to ‘Zionist journalists’

October 21, 2023 | | Print Article

The University of California, Davis (UC Davis) has finally, after days of silence, issued a weak-sauce statement condemning the assistant professor who threatened Jews in the days after Hamas committed a terror attack in Israel.

Jemma Decristo, an assistant professor of American studies and an undergraduate faculty advisor, published a post to X on the 10th — three days after the terror attack — threatening to kill “zionist journalists who spread propaganda & misiniformation (sic).”

View a screenshot of the post below, and take note of the knife, an axe, and three blood-drop emojis:

According to The Jewish Chronicle, the antisemitic trash-talking continued for days.

“Days later, in another post, Decristo wrote: ‘To the US embassy. US out of everywhere. US GO HOME. US GO HOME’ along with three fire emoji. That post was in response to protestors marching towards the US embassy in Beirut, Lebanon,” the paper notes.

“In another post, the professor celebrated the fire set at the Israeli embassy in Jordan, responding to the news with ‘HELL YEAH’ and three Palestinian flag emoji,” according to the Chronicle.

Decristo’s antisemitic trash-talking, including the original post, inspired mega pushback, with Hillel at Davis and Sacramento — a nearby Jewish center for students — leading the charge.

In a statement to Newsweek, the center condemned “the violent and hate-filled views toward the Jewish community expressed by UC Davis Assistant Professor Jemma Decristo, a member of the UC Davis faculty.”

“The idea that anyone on our campus would threaten violence is frightening enough. That the threats were directed toward the Jewish community—including targeting Jewish ‘kids in school’—just two weeks after the largest mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust is horrifying. There is no place for hate or antisemitism at UC Davis,” the statement continued.

Pressure on UC Davis also began to mount on X:

Yet, as of Saturday, Decristo still remained at the school. All that had changed was that UC Davis chancellor Gary S. May had released a weak-sauce statement condemning Decristo’s post.

“I absolutely condemn the posts attributed to a UC Davis faculty member that recently appeared on the social media platform X. I find the comments revolting in every way, and I disagree wholeheartedly with them,” he said.

“UC Davis rejects all forms of violence and discrimination, as they are antithetical to the values of our university. We strive to foster a climate of equity and justice built on mutual understanding and respect for all members of the community,” he added.

As to why Decristo hasn’t been terminated yet, he suggested the antisemitic teacher is currently under investigation and that Decristo’s continued presence at the school may be linked to its First Amendment policies.

“Some have asked why this faculty member continues to be employed at UC Davis. The University of California system has specific procedures for the review of complaints of faculty misconduct consistent with universitywide policies and bylaws. The status of complaints lodged against faculty members are confidential personnel matters, so we are unable to publicly comment on the steps we are taking,” he said.

“The public expression of opinions, even those opinions considered controversial or abhorrent, enjoy a high level of protection under the First Amendment. We are carefully reviewing this matter to ensure our response is consistent with universitywide policy and state and federal constitutional protections,” he added.

The statement was not well received on X.

Meanwhile, it turns out there’s a massive twist to this story — namely that Jemma Decristo is allegedly in fact a biological male and thus a so-called “transgender woman.”

Look:

Vivek Saxena
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