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NYC professor fired from Cooper Union over anti-Israel rants days after holding machete to reporter's neck
Shellyne Rodriguez said in an Instagram post that she was fired over “public comments about ‘Zionists'"
A New York City professor who was caught on camera holding a machete to a New York Post reporter’s neck has been fired by Cooper Union, where she was a teacher, for anti-Israel rants. “Cooper Union has fired me because of a social media post I made about ‘Zionists,’” 47-year-old Shellyne Rodriguez wrote in an email to students.
The Cooper Union Students for Justice in Palestine later shared her email on Instagram. “This is fascism,” she wrote. “Y’all are learning about it in real time.”
Rodriguez said in an Instagram post that she was fired over “public comments about ‘Zionists.'” Her account has been set to private. It is unclear which posts or comments led to her being fired.
However, back in January, Rodriguez took part in a CUNY for Palestine panel where critics claimed she made antisemitic remarks. She also posted a flyer on Instagram, promoting a pro-Israel event – edited to make it look like it was covered with cockroaches.
Former Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr. was one of the event’s participants. “Look at this dirty f—ing roach former bronx borough president Ruben Diaz Jr. a Zionist lapdog,” Rodriguez wrote in the caption.
The pro-Palestinian student group condemned the professor’s firing as “an intense escalation of repression” that “must be resisted.” “The Cooper Union wrongfully terminated a valued educator who is indispensable to the community and the academic livelihood of students,” the group wrote in a letter to the administration,” according to New York Post.
According to some, her firing was much needed. “Jewish students at Cooper Union are very relieved that they fired her,” said Jeffrey Lax, a CUNY law professor and co-founder of Students and Faculty for Equality at CUNY. “Her comments were really despicable.”
“Normally, I would say I commend the university for taking action against this professor but in this case, how can I possibly say that? She did something far worse before they hired her. I mean, she held a knife to a reporter’s neck,” Lax said. “They’re not to be commended, they should be ashamed of themselves.”
In May 2023, Rodriguez cursed out a group of pro-life students distributing information about abortion at CUNY’s Hunter College. This is where she was teaching at the time.
New York Post later visited her Bronx apartment to ask for a statement. An enraged Rodriguez held a machete to a reporter’s neck. “Get the f–k away from my door, or I’m gonna chop you up with this machete!” she screamed. The same day, she was sacked by Hunter.
Rodriguez pleaded guilty to harassment and menacing in the machete incident, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office said. She is required to complete a therapy program under the terms of a conditional plea agreement. She can withdraw the misdemeanour plea if she is successful, and will be sentenced on the violation to a conditional discharge, the DA’s office said.
