An imam from Utica, New York, called to “take out” a prominent pro-Israel professor at Columbia University, sparking widespread backlash. The imam, Tom Facchine, made the comment against Professor Shai Davidai during a webinar titled “Islamic Political Activism,” hosted by the Columbia University branch of Students for Justice in Palestine. “If you’re able to take out somebody like that and make an example, that might shut up a hundred more,” Facchine said during the online event. The video of his remarks was later removed from Instagram, which also permanently banned the video from its platform, according to a report by The College Fix, a publication that covers higher education and campus news. Davidai posted a segment of the video to his X account, drawing further attention to Facchine’s comments. “That Shai Davidai guy: How do we get him in trouble? How do we create a situation in which he’s in jeopardy,” Facchine was recorded as saying during the webinar. Facchine, 35, originally from New Jersey, has had a roller coaster religious and ideological journey. Educated at Vassar College, he left Christianity, became an atheist, and then a Marxist before converting to Islam in 2010. In response to the incident, Columbia University initiated an investigation into Facchine’s comments, enlisting outside security experts to assess the situation. According to Gerald Lewis, the university’s vice president of public safety, the investigation concluded that Facchine’s rhetoric “did not create conditions that require enhanced security measures.” “I will not be silenced—I know I’m speaking the truth. It feels like they put a target on my back with the explicit goal to take me down, to get me fired, to make up complaints about me,” Davidai said in response to the imam’s remarks. Davidai has been in the spotlight since October last year when he gained attention for a viral video in which he criticized Columbia University for failing to protect Jewish students from terrorism-supporting groups on campus. In the video, he vowed never to send his daughter to Columbia due to what he perceived as the university’s lack of action against pro-terrorism organizations. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)