A University of California Berkeley lecturer has received harsh criticism for allegedly blaming Israel for the October 7 massacre. The man has been identified as Peyrin Kao. He was severely criticized on social media after his actions were highlighted.
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Who is Peyrin Kao?
Peyrin Kao is reportedly a computer science lecturer at the University of California Berkeley. He faced a strong backlash after he made controversial statements in his class, where he blamed Israel for the October 7 massacre. He also said, “The U.S. is the biggest backer of Israel & its current bombing campaign in Gaza. My f**king tax dollars are being used to fund the bombing.”
Reportedly, Kao also invited a representative of Students for Justice in Palestine to speak to his class to get students involved in anti-Israel campus demonstrations and to support the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.
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After his actions came into the limelight, several social media users and people raised objections to his statements. One X user wrote, “If he doesn’t like what is going on in the USA, he is free to leave and work in the countries like Iran, Russia or Indonesia, which don’t support Israel. But I guess he’s not gonna do it…”
“Berkeley must remove all form of hateful and disgusting professors from their midst. Our kids deserve better. If Berkeley does not do anything then defund them now.” another user wrote.
One X user tweeted, “This is insidious now…a professor teaching computer a science class commenting on mid East politics and having terrorist supporters address the class. It’s time for the fed government to get involved.”
Anti-Semitic events and hate crimes against Jews have significantly increased both worldwide and in the US as a result of the October 7 massacre and the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reports that anti-Semitic incidents in the US increased by more than 400% in the two weeks after the Middle East crisis, which was sparked by a Hamas attack on Israel, began.
