The Jewish NYC councilwoman who was arrested for carrying a gun on her hip while resisting a pro-Palestinian rally has spoken out at Cooper Union following an incident in which Jewish students were barricaded in the library during a protest called to “HEADS TO ROLL”.
Inna Vernikov, a Republican who represents a large number of Orthodox Jewish voters in the city’s 48th District, took aim at Cooper Union on Thursday morning after a frightening incident occurred at the private facility on Wednesday.
A group of Jewish students were forced to flee a shouting mob that chased them after they allegedly counter-protested. The pro-Israel students were forced to lock themselves in the library while pro-Palestinian protesters pounded on the doors mercilessly.
There were no arrests and no one was injured on Wednesday night. The Jewish students finally managed to leave the building on foot.
Vernikov wrote in a long X-thread that the protest should have taken place outside the school on public property. But the pro-Palestinian group was unstoppable when it entered one of the school buildings.
She pointed out that this protest, which resulted in the direct terrorization of Jewish students, was sanctioned by the school’s faculty, who “cancelled classes because of the strike” and “encouraged students to participate.”
🧵Last evening I spoke to four Jewish students @cooperunion. Three of them were barricaded in the library while pro-Hamas protesters violently banged on doors. A few takeaways from student reports about the incident:
— Councilor Inna Vernikov (@InnaVernikov) October 26, 2023
Some, she said, even offered additional recognition to those who attended the out-of-control rally. Others took part in the protest themselves.
As of Thursday morning, the small school, which awards degrees in engineering, art and architecture, had not issued a statement assuring its Jewish students that they could safely return to campus.
Later Thursday afternoon, a lawyer representing the school’s Jewish students issued a statement in support of those who were chased into the library – only to be shouted down by a pro-Palestinian student who called his account of the events “fake.” News,” as other viewers responded with boos and jeers.
“These students are AFRAID to come to school today and many of them will STAY HOME,” Vernikov wrote on X ahead of the attorney’s press statement.
Some students, she said, “dropped out of class.” The students trapped in the library “are traumatized and said they ‘will never go in there feeling okay again.'”
“This is a terrible dereliction of duty on the part of Cooper Union to protect its Jewish students from physical harm and failure to provide them with a safe space, and the university must be held accountable for creating a hostile environment,” wrote the angry representative. “HEADS MUST ROLL.”
A statement from the school after the event said: “The library was closed for approximately 20 minutes while student protesters marched through our building.”
According to the New York Police Department, community affairs officers were present throughout the demonstration, which was attended by approximately 90 people.
“The school staff allowed the demonstration.” The students dispersed after the incident. “No property damage was reported, no criminal charges were filed and no threats of physical violence were made,” the department said in a statement.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who positioned himself as staunchly pro-Israel during this conflict, said that his office “has been in contact with the leadership of the NYPD and Cooper Union about the situation unfolding on campus played”.
He said the NYPD was on scene and coordinated with school security throughout the event “to ensure no one was injured.”
On Wednesday, a pro-Palestinian mob is seen storming past a security guard and shouting: “Free, free Palestine”
Cooper Union on Astor Place in Manhattan’s East Village was rocked by a pro-Palestinian protest on Wednesday
Vernikov, herself Jewish, expressed her outrage at the school on behalf of her Jewish students. Since the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7th, she has consistently spoken out against anti-Semitism.
Shortly after the attacks, she was arrested for carrying a gun on her hip while resisting a pro-Palestine rally at CUNY Brooklyn College.
She turned herself in to the NYPD after her appearance at the school’s Flatbush campus, where hundreds gathered to support the Palestinian cause after Hamas terrorists killed 1,400 Israelis.
Vernikov, 39, was released with a desk appearance ticket and ordered to surrender her gun, a Smith & Wesson 9-millimeter, and her concealed carry license, which she received just last month.
Although she had a license, it is a Class E felony to bring a weapon into a protest or school grounds, which are considered “sensitive locations.”
Brooklyn Republican Councilwoman Inna Vernikov was arrested after carrying a gun on her hip at a pro-Palestine rally at CUNY Brooklyn College earlier this month
“I’m here at the pro-Hamas rally at Brooklyn College. There are a lot of police and we made sure that the Jewish students feel safe today, but here they are screaming and shouting: “Intifada, globalize the Intifida!” said Vernikov in a video posted on X from the protest.
“If you stand here today alongside these people, you are nothing less than a terrorist without the bombs,” she added.
Vernikov represents Brighton Beach, Sheepshead Bay and surrounding neighborhoods and is a member of the council’s Standards and Ethics Committee.
The account CUNY4Palestine
“These are the tactics of violence and intimidation used by Zionist groups to silence all support for Palestine.”