NYU student dodges question on empathy for murdered Israelis
New York University student Ryna Workman did not answer a question about having empathy for murdered and tortured Israelis following the Hamas attack on Oct. 7.
ABC News Live Prime did not receive an answer from former New York University Law School Student Bar Association president Ryna Workman over whether there should be compassion for murdered Israelis after Workman posted a controversial statement in the wake of the Oct. 7 terror attacks in Israel.
Workman, who reportedly identifies as nonbinary, previously came under fire for writing in the newsletter SBA Weekly shortly after Hamas' terrorist attack that "Israel bears full responsibility for this tremendous loss of life" and "this regime of state-sanctioned violence created the conditions that made resistance necessary," adding, "I will not condemn Palestinian resistance."
Since that statement, Workman was forced to step down as the organization's president and lost a job offer from international law firm Winston & Strawn LLP.
ABC anchor Linsey Davis questioned Workman on Tuesday whether the former SBA president personally felt "empathy for the Israeli victims" killed or tortured by Hamas despite her statement. Workman did not directly respond to the question.
NYU student Ryna Workman avoided questions on empathy for dead Israelis. (ABC)
"I think whether or not my empathy goes to Israelis or to Palestinians is really not the question here. What the question is, will we call for an end to this genocide and will we call for a ceasefire," Workman responded.
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Davis again asked if there was room for empathy for the massive loss of life on both sides.
"Do you think that in this space that we're in right now there's room to have empathy for the Israelis who lost their lives, who were brutalized, who were raped and also empathy for the Palestinians who are similarly losing their lives?" Davis pressed.
"I think right now if you turn on any mainstream channel you’ll see the stories of Israelis on every screen you look to. So I think for me, I will continue to use my platform to uplift the voices of Palestinians and the struggles they’re going through because right now we have over 5000 Palestinian lives lost. And they are asking us and begging us to share their stories, and that’s what we’ll continue to do," Workman argued.
Palestinian protests and demonstration have popped up across college campuses (Left: (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images), Right: (Photo by Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images))
Davis offered multiple opportunities for Workman to "soften" or change her original statement.
"If you were to redo the letter, obviously with the benefit of hindsight, anything you would have done differently?" she offered.
Workman responded, "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 ceasefire and end this occupation that's harming the Palestinians."
"I'm going to just try one more time," Davis said. "Would you change anything? Even the timing of it? Because some people felt it was too soon because you letter came before Israel even launched any kind of retaliation."
The NYU student instead repeated support for Palestinians against the threat of "genocide."
"I think what I use my platform for, and who I condemn was pretty clear by my message," Workman said. "I think I will continue to condemn apartheid and military occupation."
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New York University stripped Workman of Student Bar Association presidential privileges after the statement on Israel. (Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Several high-profile universities such as Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania have also faced backlash after multiple student organizations voiced their support for the Hamas attack against Israel or blaming Israel for the loss of life.
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"I think it’s important to know that right now we’re using this backlash as a big distraction from what’s really going on, and that’s the genocide happening in Gaza. And I think we should all really be focused on calling for a ceasefire and ending the violence that we’re seeing play out right now," Workman argued.
A video surfaced on social media on Wednesday that appeared to show Workman in the same outfit from the ABC News interview, taping up flyers for a student walkout over ripped up posters of kidnapped Israeli civilians.
Fox News Digital reached out to Workman for comment.
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