Stony Brook profs who compared Zionism to Nazism, racism get hit with charges in anti-Israel protest
The two professors were arraigned along with eight students for taking part in an anti-Israel protest on May 1.
Both faculty members have posted criticism of the Jewish State on social media before, with one of them comparing the Jewish State to Nazi Germany.
On May 21, 10 anti-Israel protesters at Stony Brook University in New York were arraigned regarding their conduct during a protest on May 1.
The 10 individuals included two professors from the university, Josh Dubnau and Abena Asare, and eight students.
The protesters demanded that the school divest from businesses with connections to the Jewish state. Policemen from the school, Suffolk County, and the New York state police arrested demonstrators after they refused to heed a warning that they would be detained if they failed to end the protest.
Almost 30 individuals total were arrested as a result.
The two professors who joined the students in the protest, Dubnau and Asare, have both strongly criticized Israel before, with at least one of them comparing the nation to Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany.
Dubnau, who is a professor of Anesthesiology, posted to X on May 22, calling Israel a “fascist state” and claiming that “[t]hose who defend Israel as a democracy are gaslighting.”
This is what Israel is. It’s a fascist state. Those who defend Israel as a democracy are gaslighting. https://t.co/a6VbXd0z5B
— Josh Dubnau 🇵🇸 (@joshdubnau) May 22, 2024
On May 19, Dubnau compared Israel to Nazi Germany, posting to X: “This is Nazi level depravity from Israel,” and alleging that Israel is “Dehumanizing and hunting children.”
This is Nazi level depravity from Israel. Dehumanizing and hunting children. https://t.co/SFWHrcIdU3
— Josh Dubnau 🇵🇸 (@joshdubnau) May 19, 2024
On May 15, Dubnau posted commenting on an article from The Guardian, summarizing it as follows: “Israeli fascist faction is fighting with the other Israeli fascist faction about the best way to opress [sic] Palestinian survivors after a hypothetical conclusion of the genocide that they all support.”
Israeli fascist faction is fighting with the other Israeli fascist faction about the best way to opress Palestinian survivors after a hypothetical conclusion of the genocide that they all support.https://t.co/KAgwdxE1xU
— Josh Dubnau 🇵🇸 (@joshdubnau) May 15, 2024
Asare is an associate professor of Modern African Affairs and History at Stony Brook. “Her research spans questions of diaspora, human rights, and transitional justice in Africa and the African diaspora,” according to her faculty page.
On Jan. 18, Asare published an article for the Boston Review claiming that Zionism is racism, and praising a former Stony Brook professor who compared Zionism to Nazism.
Peter Brill, the legal representative for the protesters, stated that he hoped the charges would be dropped because everyone wanted to “move past” the incident.
“We hope that between now and June, given the interests among all of the parties at Stony Brook to move past this incident, that there will be a strong recommendation to the district attorney to move to dismiss these charges and let everyone open a new chapter,” Brill said.
Campus Reform has contacted Stony Brook University, Professor Josh Dubnau, and Professor Abena Asare for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
