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'Non-binary' student bar association president lost a job for siding with Hamas. Now she's being kicked out of office.
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'Non-binary' student bar association president lost a job for siding with Hamas. Now she's being kicked out of office.

Hamas' latest series of terror attacks on Israel have left over 1,200 Israelis and at least 25 Americans dead. Thousands more are wounded. Over 95 families have been notified that their loved ones — including infants and disabled relatives — have been taken hostage amid reports of rape and other war crimes.

Ryna Workman, the so-called "non-binary" president of the New York University Student Bar Association, equated this carnage to "resistance" and pinned the blame on Israel. Like other leftist students keen to side with Hamas, she continues to reap the whirlwind.

TheBlaze previously noted that Workman, who uses "they/them" pronouns, lost a high-paying gig at a big law firm following reports she had told the student body that the terrorism perpetrated by Hamas on civilians was "necessary."

On Wednesday, the NYU Student Bar Association moved to depose Workman.

What's the background?

Workman published a statement in her capacity as SBA president earlier this week, saying, "This week, I want to express, first and foremost, my unwavering and absolute solidarity with Palestinians in their resistance against oppression toward liberation and self-determination. Israel bears full responsibility for this tremendous loss of life."

"This regime of state-sanctioned violence created the conditions that made resistance necessary. I will not condemn Palestinian resistance," she continued. "Instead ... I condemn the violence of apartheid. I condemn the violence of settler colonialism. I condemn the violence of military occupation."

Workman concluded by saying, "Palestine will be free."

The student previously served as a summer associate at Winson & Strawn LLP, a 170-year-old firm headquartered in Chicago with offices in NYC and various other cities around the world. She was apparently poised to make a small fortune at the firm as a lawyer. However, upon learning of Workman's pro-terror missive, the firm issued a statement indicating the offer of employment had been rescinded.

"Today, Winston & Strawn learned that a former summer associate published certain inflammatory comments regarding Hamas' recent terrorist attack on Israel and distributed it to the NYU Student Bar Association. These comments are profoundly in conflict with Winston & Strawn's values as a firm," the firm stated Tuesday.

Jobless and dethroned

Facing significant backlash over their student president's apparent support of terrorism, the NYU SBA issued a statement Wednesday claiming Workman — whose activist pronouns they made sure to respect — had been speaking for herself, reported the New York Post.

"Earlier today, the SBA President published a statement about the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine as part of the weekly bulletin email. The remaining members of SBA are writing to clarify that we did not write, approve, or see this message before it was published. SBA did not hold discussions about whether to issue a public statement about the conflict or the content of any potential statement," read the post.

The post was dated Oct. 10, but the URL alternatively indicates an Oct. 11 publication date.

"The 'Message from the President' reflects their personal views and does not represent the views of SBA as an organization or any of its officers," continued the post.

The SBA post further indicated that Tuesday evening, the group's board voted to initiate the removal of Workman as president. To this end, a hearing will be conducted on Oct. 17 and 24 as part of the removal procedures.

While the authors of the Oct. 11 statement noted they mourned "the tremendous loss of human life in the past several days," they still did not condemn Hamas' attacks on civilians.

Troy McKenzie, the dean of the law school, and David Tanner, the chair of the NYU law board of trustees, did however issue a separate statement "unequivocally condemn[ing] the recent terrorist acts and the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas in Israel," adding that "any statement that does not recognize this brutality does not reflect the values of NYU Law."

The New York Daily News indicated that Workman had not provided comment.

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Joseph MacKinnon

Joseph MacKinnon

Joseph MacKinnon is a staff writer for Blaze News.
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