A Wall Street banker was fired after shouting at a Jewish American, “Go back to your country,” while covering signs calling for the return of hostages kidnapped by Hamas terrorists.
Kurush Mistry and his partner Shailja Gupta faced intense backlash after the two-minute video posted on social media late last week about the incident at 68th Street and Riverside Boulevard in New York went viral.
Mistry sticks the poster on a lamp post with Gupta next to him. The Jewish-American man asks him, “What is your name, sir?” “You must be very proud.”
As the tension on the deserted sidewalk subsides, the couple responds by giving him the middle finger.
The man continues, “You’re really proud of yourself.”
Kurush Mistry and his partner Shailja Gupta faced intense backlash after the two-minute video posted on social media late last week about the incident at 68th Street and Riverside Boulevard in New York went viral
Mistry sticks the poster on a lamp post with Gupta next to him. A man asks him: “What is your name, sir?” “You must be very proud.” The couple responds by giving him the middle finger
Gupta records the man on her cell phone before getting into an argument with him
Looking directly at him, Mistry replies, “Very proud.”
As his partner appears to be filming the viewer, Mistry holds up a piece of paper that says: “Israel is an apartheid state and is committing genocide.”
After continuing the act and doing their best to appear unfazed, they then led the man away and said, “Go back to your country.”
He replies, “I am an American.” Then he realizes that he is an American Jew.
The viewer says, “You also want my country not to exist, so where should I go?”
Gupta responds: “You don’t want my damn country to exist.”
He asks, “Which country is this?”
She replies: “Palestine.”
According to his LinkedIn page, Mistry worked at Freepoint Commodities for nine years.
Mistry sticks the poster on a lamp post with Gupta next to him. A man asks him: “What is your name, sir?” “You must be very proud.” The couple responds by giving him the middle finger. Gupta then films the viewer with her cell phone
He previously worked at Morgan Stanley, Barclays and Lehman Brothers.
Shailja Gupta’s LinkedIn account states that she has been working as a visual artist, filmmaker and strategic advisor in emerging technologies for 29 years.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish advocacy group, the number of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States has quadrupled since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
Since the start of the war, there have been several incidents of disputes caused by local residents tearing down posters related to the conflict.
In a statement after the footage was shared online, Freepoint said it was “aware of the recent anti-Semitic incident reported on social media and that the individual involved is no longer associated with Freepoint.”
According to the Financial Times, two people familiar with the matter identified the person in the video as Mistry and confirmed that he was fired from Freepoint.
Freepoint operates in the energy, metals and agricultural markets and is based in Connecticut.
“We welcome the diversity of views and opinions of our employees, but Freepoint does not tolerate discrimination and hate speech against any group,” the company said.
In August, senior U.S. leaders and financiers expressed anger at a statement by groups at Harvard University that “held the Israeli regime solely responsible for all of the unfolding violence.”
Kurush Mistry and his partner Shailja Gupta
Law firms have withdrawn offers to students over their involvement in groups criticizing Israel over the war and called on universities to do more to combat anti-Semitism among students.
Scientists from some of the country’s most prominent institutions will meet next week to explore ways to defuse tensions.
Home to 1.6 million to two million Jews and hundreds of thousands of Muslims, New York City has been rocked by demonstrations, rallies and vigils in support of Palestinians and Israel since Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7.
In the attack, about 240 people were taken hostage by the terrorist group and about 1,200 Israelis were killed.
According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, more than 11,200 Palestinians have died since the war began – two thirds of them women and minors.
Mayor Eric Adams, who governs a city of nearly nine million people, including the world’s largest Jewish community after Israel, has repeatedly asserted at pro-Israel rallies that Israel’s “fight” is also New York’s fight.