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Ryna Workman, the controversial New York University Student Bar Association president, is facing major online heat again for being filmed defacing posters of Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas. Earlier in October, Workman's presidential post came under threat, and their international job offer got rescinded after they put out a statement that said Israel bore "full responsibility" for the conflict.
Netizens were extremely saddened at the state of educational institutions in the country. People called the Student Bar Association president's actions "disgusting" and called for their expulsion. Social media users also requested law firms not to hire them. One X (formerly Twitter) user commented:
Netizens request law firms to not hire Ryna Workman
On Tuesday, October 24, Lauryn "Ryna" Workman, along with a friend, was filmed defacing posters of the Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas. They were seen pasting posters for a national student walkout over the faces of the victims. The person filming asks both of them for their names. While Ryna's friend declined to answer, Ryna Workman seemed to ignore the camera on them.
The person tells Ryna's friend, who was later identified as Hala Al Shami, to do whatever she is doing with pride and state her name. She replied that she was "very proud" but did not want to talk to him. The video went viral and was picked by @StopAntisemites, whose re-tweet of the video amassed over 2.6 million views.
Netizens were disgusted by the behavior of Ryna Workman and their friend. The calls for their expulsion were loud, as were the requests for law firms to not accept them. People tagged the Student Bar Association in the comments, asking them to take action. Netizens were furious and called the students "hateful" and "evil."
Ryna Workman's stance on Hamas remains unclear
Earlier in October, Ryna Workman released a controversial statement in a Student Bar Association newsletter proclaiming their "unwavering and absolute solidarity" towards the Palestinians and their "resistance."
"Israel bears full responsibility for this tremendous loss of life. This regime of state-sanctioned violence created the conditions that made resistance necessary. I will not condemn Palestinian resistance," Ryna said.
This statement, labeled as a "Message from the President," caused a massive controversy, leading to the Student Bar Association releasing a statement saying that the message was not read or approved by the rest of the members and that the message was simply the president's personal views. They also revealed that they were initiating a vote for the president's removal.
On Tuesday, October 24, Workman appeared on ABC News to defend their statements about Israel being fully responsible for the violence. Reporter Linsey Davis asked them if there was anything they would've done differently if they were to redo the statement. They replied:
"I think I will continue to speak up for Palestinian human rights and use whatever platform I have available to me to call for a cease-fire and end this occupation that's harming the Palestinians."
Once again, Davis re-iterated the question and stressed the timing of their statement, which some people thought came too soon, as it was written before Israel even launched any retaliation. They replied by stating that the genocide started 75 years ago, and that was the message they were trying to get across. When asked if they condemned Hamas for the October 7 attacks, they replied:
"I think what I use my platform for, and who I condemn was pretty clear by my message, and I think that I will continue to condemn apartheid and military occupation."
Linsey Davis asked Ryna Workman if they thought it possible to have empathy for the Israelis who lost their lives and were brutalized and r*ped and empathy for the people of Palestine, who are facing a similar situation. They replied that every mainstream channel was sharing stories of Israelis and that they would use their platform to uplift Palestinians.
"I think whether or not my empathy goes to Israelis or to Palestinians is really not the question here. What the question is, is will we call for an end to this genocide and will we call for a cease-fire," Ryna said.
Ryna Workman's controversial statement cost them a job. Prestigious Chicago law firm Winston & Strawn immediately rescinded their job offer for Ryna after their statement went public.
