May 15, 2024
A "non-binary" college educator attacked a bystander who recorded her ripping down posters of Israelis who were taken hostage by Hamas.

Update: After publication of this story, the City Tech communications department reached out to Breitbart News with this statement. “The individual does not currently teach at City Tech and has not taught at the college for several years.” Where able, we have updated the story accordingly.

The story continues below…

A “non-binary” college educator went viral after attacking a bystander who recorded her ripping down posters of Israelis who were taken hostage by Hamas. 

Callen Zimmerman, a biological female who identifies with “they/them” pronouns, was listed as an adjunct professor within the City University of New York (CUNY) system until backlash resulted in her online biography being taken down.

After publication, City Tech reached out to Breitbart News to say that Zimmerman currently does not teach at City Tech and hasn’t for “several years.” 

The disturbing footage, taken by a couple of onlookers, shows Zimmerman tearing down signs of missing civilians who were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 attack on Israeli soil. In the video, she tells them to “go colonize somewhere else.”

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Horror of the Hamas Terror Attack on Civilians at Kibbutz Be’eri in Israel

Joel B. Pollak / Breitbart News

When the camerawoman attempts to follow Zimmerman across the street to capture what she is doing, the academic can be seen reaching and hitting her.

The clip, shared by the X account “StopAntisemitism,” has garnered more than one million views since Tuesday. 

The page also shared Zimmerman’s now-deleted bio on the Stony Brook University website, where she is a “Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies” PhD student.

“Callen Zimmerman explores intricacies of material culture and queer experience, as fashion freak, educator and maker,” the Long Island university wrote, adding that Zimmerman teaches “Fashion Studies & Art History” at City Tech and York Colleges, which are part of NYC’s public university system, CUNY.

A Stony Brook University spokesperson told the Daily Mail that the video of the university’s student is “vile and infuriating.”

“The social media post regarding a Stony Brook University graduate student being widely circulated on social media is vile and infuriating, and in no way represents the views of Stony Brook University,” the spokesperson told the outlet.

“During this deeply distressing time, we must condemn antisemitism unequivocally and support every member of our community,” the spokesperson added.

The school also claimed that it does “not believe” Zimmerman has “engaged in such conduct on campus” but said it will conduct a review. 

The CUNY-associated schools where Zimmerman supposedly teaches have not yet commented on the situation. 

CUNY is a publicly funded institution that received $2.8 billion in government funding in 2022, the Daily Mail reported. 

According to its budget request, obtained by the outlet, CUNY received $2 billion from New York State, $527 million from New York City, and $312 million from federal education programs.

“Administrators asked for an additional $400 million in total for this year and also proposed a freeze on fees,” the publication reported.