THE SCROLL: Prof thinks attack on AIPAC leader's home is 'pretty cool'
Gustafson defended the actions as 'pretty cool' because 'nobody was harmed.'
”The Scroll” is Campus Reform’s serial coverage of social media postings and debates that relate to liberal bias in higher education.
A social media post flagged by watchdog StopAntisimitism appears to show Washington University Associate Professor Bret Gustafson categorizing an attack on the private residence of the leader of a pro-Israel organization as “pretty cool.”
Bret Gustafson, Associate Professor at Washington University in St. Louis, says setting off gas canisters outside the homes of Jews is “pretty cool”.
LAPD are investigating it as a possible hate crime.
Are Jewish students safe in his classroom @WUSTL @WashUChancellor? pic.twitter.com/wpwxY2Mhrk— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) November 27, 2023
Video circulating on social media shows pro-Palestinian protesters targeting Los Angeles home of American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) President Michael Tuchin. The event, which is being investigated as a possible hate crime involved smoke bombs, red paint, and cloth bundles apparently meant to depict dead babies.
Los Angeles: the home of AIPAC’s President was targeted by BLM LA & pro-Hamas radcials who ignited smoke bombs outside of his residence in Brentwood and proceeded to spill red paint, signifying blood. 🤬 pic.twitter.com/AxbM459Gnj
— The New York Times (@newstodayyt1) November 24, 2023
In response to a post from City University of New York journalism professor and political analyst Peter Beinart condemning the attack as inappropriate, Gustafson defended the actions as “pretty cool” because “nobody was harmed” and “it’s an escrache tactic,” telling Beinart to “look it up.”
Gustafson teaches at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri and is a “political anthropologist whose interests range from Indigenous languages to the politics of energy.” His work largely focuses on Bolivia.