A former nurse is now being targeted with online hate after she went around in New York City calling Israeli tourists “baby killers” and all kinds of insults. As a result of her virality, the woman was also terminated from her job, and is now receiving hundreds of threats online and offline.
Jennifer Kooning is the woman in question, and on April 5, she posted a video on her Instagram account where she heckled Israelis in New York City with a friend. Kooning can be heard repeatedly calling three Israelis “baby killers” while they were sitting, “Oh my god, their numbers keep multiplying, there’s four of them now.” It’s not clear what provoked this interaction, though Kooning has shown staunch support for anti-Zionist Jews in New York.
Additionally, one of the highlights of her heckling video was when a Spider-Man cosplayer walked up to them and told them, “You don’t need to harass people.” In response to the Spider-Man cosplayer, Kooning insisted that the Israelis were “baby killers” and then laughed at him.
In a follow-up video, Kooning also showed that she interviewed the Israelis she heckled, even asking them, “How many women did you [expletive]?” alluding to sexual assault. Because of her actions, it appears Inspire Mental Health Services, where Kooning worked, has terminated her, even stating that, “we were shocked by this behavior.”
Kooning also posted this new change in her employment with the caption, “nice job zios lol you got me fired from a place I was working like 8 hours a week at,” leading many commenters to assume that Kooning had other sources of income. In any case, Kooning’s now-viral heckling vid, as well as her termination, has sparked a debate online.
People are Arguing with Her Stance
On one hand, a lot of people sympathized with Kooning and her branding of Israelis as “baby killers”. Certain commenters even praised Kooning, saying, “Good job, Jennifer! Please stay safe!” while others ironically joked that Spider-Man disappointed them. “Not my Spider-Man,” says one commenter, while another quipped, “Spideman is a zio. Pass it on.”
Still, other groups of people didn’t exactly find Kooning’s sweeping generalization acceptable. One commenter on Kooning’s Instagram video even called her a racist, “This is so messed up. Do you think all Israeli citizens are evil and agree with what their government is doing?? You are an American citizen who doesn’t agree with what trump is doing, there are Israelis who are the same. This is just blatant racism.”
Kooning, meanwhile, has opened up a fundraising campaign online on Chuffed, titled “support Jen’s free speech,” where the goal is to raise $10,000. Apparently, the former nurse has been receiving death and sexual assault threats in addition to a doxxing campaign for her personal details and address.
