Victoria Ruiz, New York County public defender was caught removing posters of Israeli children kidnapped by Hamas terrorists. Amidst the Israel-Hamas conflict, anti-semitism is constantly rising across the world and resulting in hate crimes. Her video removing posters has gone viral on Twitter.

The person recording Ruiz act asked her several times why she was taking down posters of missing children. Though, she refused to answer.

Watch Video:

Who is Victoria Ruiz?

Victoria Marie Ruiz is a lawyer in New York registered with the Office of Court Administration (OCA) of New York State Unified Court System. She works for New York County Defender Service. Victoria graduated from the University of California Hastings College of the Law.

However, her removing posters is controversial as it is a way of protest. The removing of posters comes in the backdrop of Israel-Hamas conflict which has claimed thousands of lives. Recently, the Gaza Health Ministry announced on Thursday that at least 9,061 Palestinians mostly women and children had died and over 32,000 had been wounded in the conflict.

On the Israeli side, about 1,400 people have perished—a record number that primarily consisted of civilians slain during Hamas’ initial attack.

Also Read: Who is Siriana Abboud? Manhattan pre-K teacher teaches anti-Israel lessons

This has led to a significant surge in antisemitism in the US, particularly post the Israel-Gaza violence. According to FBI Director Christopher Wray, about 60% of religious-based hate crimes target Jewish individuals. The UK and France also reported a rise in antisemitic incidents.

As the crisis progresses, talks regarding an intersection of free speech and hate speech have become more important, as have measures to guarantee the safety and well-being of students and communities.